The Lost Journal Of Mabel
by Pandoradoomer
Summary: We all know only one side of the story, that of an omniscient narrator focused on Dipper. But in this whole scenario, Mabel's vision over the situation has been left unexplored. However, few know that she had kept a diary too. An intimate one, that tells a completely different story...
1. First Days In The Falls

_June,27_ _th_ _._ Ah, the summer. That period of time, when you know school is over and you know that you're careless for three months. The best part of it? Well, for me it is that I get to keep my diary in absolute silence without being bothered by my annoying brother, asking me continuously to help him do something. But, as all sugarcoated dreams must come to an end, I've spent a total of twenty hours of summer at home, being shipped alongside my twin sibling to a distant relative in Gravity Falls, OR. Now let me summarize in ten words or less what this diary is going to be about. It will serve as a…*asked my brother for a fancy word* memento for you future Mabel, of one of the best summers you're going to have. Also, this piece of art, should you consider it will be the written proof of every single major event I will experience alongside my little brother. Note to self: Do not speak while you're writing this, it may lead to feelings getting hurt…

"Can you stop it?" his annoyed voice almost shouted in a high pitch.

It was the whiny tone that only my brother could produce.

"No, no I won't stop. What are you going to do about it?"

"Ah, Mabel, Mabel, Mabel," he began his condescending remark. "Why you've got to be so infantile?"

"Infan- what?"

"From the word "enfant" meaning child in French, you can guess the rest…"

"Childish? That's the sweetest thing you have ever told me. Boop!" I said, bopping his nose.

"You never change, do you?"

"As if we haven't lived almost thirteen years together."

"It's the end of June and it's not our birthday until the 31st of August."

"You've got to be kidding me, right? Two months to thirteen years isn't almost thirteen years…"

"Nope!"

I couldn't argue with his nerdiness. What I could do though was admire the view. We grew up in the urban area of Piedmont, on a small street. Our house was never big, our money never piling up, but it was a nice life. However, it's like we never lived. It's the myth that people "surviving" the concrete jungle are the most mundane and bland ones. And it's true. We didn't know anything else than school homework then repetitive meetings with our common and uncommon friends( Don't mind the wordplay future Mabel, I get this from listening to Dipper read, you know how he is- he reads out loud sometimes). Now we had the chance to live free from all the judgements we'd face if we were ourselves. Now I could really be me, the gleeful me. And Dipper can be himself, the weird part of him.

"Mabel…"

"Sorry."

Now as I was watching the seemingly foreground of the beauty we were about to observe (I know we know that I am pretty poetic at times), I couldn't help but wonder what it will be like to see a real forest, not the make-believe ones we have back home. Albeit, our city is classified as a mostly suburban area, completely surrounded by the city of Oakland, it's not the same as really being in the heart of the woods. It's that feeling I thrive for. Being lost, and surviving only because of the pity Mother Nature grants us, being avoided by the fierce predators in one of the most awesome manner ever. I think, I just ruined the mood.

"How long until we reach…"

"Gravity Falls, that's the word you're looking for."

"I knew that, I knew that," I said defending myself in my usual manner.

"We've left for about 2 hours so, I'd say one hour tops. Why?"

"Because, I am excited you know?"

"To be sent about 300 miles from home, to some weirdo we know nothing about? That's exciting for you?"

"Off, off, silly Dipper," I remarked gently slapping my forehead." You should be excited because it's our first summer away from home, from parents and from what-not."

"True enough, but spending it in such an exotic place, surely has to lighten me up," Dipper exclaimed sarcastically.

"Come on, chin up, it could be worse. We could've gone to Ohio and freeze to death on a mountain top…"

"You're thinking of Idaho, genius."

"Whatever, the point is you can actually end up having fun this summer and maybe change your usual attitude."

"What usual attitude?"

"Pessimistic and condescending."

"Ok, then I will do that if you renounce your summer goal."

"Never!" I shouted trying to impersonate a brave knight.

"You can't really give away your childish dream of having a summertime love?"

"Nope! This is my first and only chance to have it and you aren't ruining this for me, you got that?"

"Then you have no deal, sis."

"Come on… what if you meet someone, will you do it then?"

"It is possible but also empirically improbable…"

"You'll change your mind, hopefully," I replied sealing the fate of this conversation and transforming it into an uneasy silence.

The bus's engine purred rhythmically with a few worrying coughs interrupting its monotone sound. Our trip was almost over, we're in the homestretch for the place where we're going to spend close to three months of our short lives. I wonder what kind of town is it. It's Oregon, so it's bound to be a small, almost rural city. I don't expect anyone to be something they might not be, or couldn't be, but I still had high hopes. Especially since I had a summer goal that implied finding a true love or just a crush. Which, now that I write and think about it, seems very shallow, but what gives.

"It is indeed shallow and also trite." Dipper said while subtly backing off after peeking into my diary.

"You know it's rude to get up in my business, right?"

"It's funny to see you mad, though. You blush and your voice starts to crack, clear signs of embarrassment."

"I'm not that obvious, please…"

"I can read you like a book, you're the definition of expressivity and it's nothing shameful in that…"

"Didn't say it was," I said with a forced smile covering my face…

Without another word, I resumed my contemplation. I focused on the clouds, whose magnificent shadows covered the now dark woods. In a game of hide and seek, deer were winning against the wolves chasing them relentlessly in blank daylight. It was amazing to see how lazily the dark spots moved along the mountain's crest almost trying to sneak up on us and catch us by surprise. On one side the steep cliff of the rocky peak, on the other side, the abrupt drop of the valley with a sinuous river flowing through it, creating the paradisiac cliché we've all come to enjoy. You cannot deny its beauty, but you can testify against its originality.

Crossing the state border was very obvious. We've gone from a smooth ride, on the government built roads to the bumpy, dirty roads of Oregon. I slept through the transition, but I felt the first big hop in my stomach, head and feet, as I woke up on the corridor of the coach, with my brother staring at me, with a dumb glare.

"You watched me fall and didn't do a thing?"

"Figured you'd get up and learn a lesson. I was right."

"Oh, you…" But I was interrupted by another bump that threw me further than before. For a moment I lost consciousness. I must've hit my head on the chairs, but I didn't have bruises afterwards, so I don't know what happened. Either way, I was knocked out cold for around half an hour. During this time, I had time to explore the inside of my head. Swimming in a world, filled with unicorns, candies, dolphins and rainbows on top of rainbows on top of cloudy skies with bubblegum raining every second. It was the childish odyssey I have conceived on my own. But, alas all that is utopic must have its end. Soon I have woken up from my dream. Looking around I saw that I was outside the bus, and it was burning in the distance, dripping fuel. I was carefully laid down on a patch of grass, with my brother alongside me, out cold as well. I didn't see other people near us, despite the bus was half full, and no one else was in our vicinity. I jumped on top of my brother, hitting his head and slapping him repeatedly, in a desperate attempt to wake him up. After a good 5 minutes of continuous work from myself, he finally squinted an eye and drowsily asked:

"What happened?"

"The bus fell over and something caused a fire, the driver is out cold, we are here," I began hyperventilating.

"Okay, okay, calm down!" He grabbed me by the shoulders trying to reassure me that it's all ok." Let's get closer and maybe see for ourselves, what's going on."

We started slowly walking towards the crash site, when an immense explosion broke the eerie, but calming silence. We were thrown to the ground by the shockwave, and our ears immediately covered due to the resulted pain. After a brief delay, we rose to our feet and stared through the bus, not wanting to look at this tragedy…

 _June 29_ _th_ _._ Looking back at this diary page now, I think I turned it into a dream diary, because I can't remember any of this. It seems like a nightmare I've had, in spite of its striking realism. Now, sitting in our new couch looking at the TV with our Grunkle we didn't know we had, it can't seem like any other than a work of fiction, although it had marked me profoundly apparently, since I have found the need to write it down. I have no memory of the road to Gravity Falls, at all. This is a mystery I can't get to the bottom of. What a pity. Now, future Mabel, let me tell you what I can recall.

The second we got off the bus, we've entered our home/ workplace for the summer. Our great uncle had transformed his house into a full of hooey tourist attraction, which isn't surprising considering his entrepreneur skills. This guy can literally sell a blind man sunglasses and it's amazing the time and effort he put into designing one of the coolest looking "museums"( quotation marks needed) I've ever been in. I had to share a room with my little brother, which was bound to make us closer, considering our recent past of drifting apart, due to growing up and stuff. Now all that was left was meet the local fauna. I should really spend more time with Dipper. It really enriches my vocabulary to the point where I can literally write novels, which I am not going to.

The people here are nicer than I'd expected, especially those who we're working with. We have two workplace colleagues: Soos, who is a very friendly, chubby, yet tall guy, with an amazing view of the world and Wendy, the definition of being dense, sheer cold, calculated and generally indolent( how are these words pouring out of me?) towards what she doesn't like. And of course that since she is a girl and not related to him, Dipper couldn't really let her go unnoticed. By that I hope you can understand that he now has a crush on her. And since he had been so busy, I had to catch up and also find mine too. Flirting with every boy I found couldn't be the solution could it? It wasn't. I heard the weirdo line one time too many, so I decided to hang it up for a while now.

I was doing my regular job in the shack, as it can also be named, which implied brooming and dusting off the antiques and taking care of the register( it usually gets sick and spits out tons of money), when Dipper comes in and tells me to follow him upstairs. As soon as we got into our room (the mansard) he had pulled out a strange looking book, bearing a 6 handed hand with the number 3 etched on it. He looked scared of something, that I knew nothing of.

"What do you have there?"

"The key to our amazing summer, that's what." He answered with a confidence, uncommon for him.

"An old book?"

"Look what's in it first…"

I flipped through the yellow pages and got bored out by these the instant I saw them.

"What about these scribble doodles?" I asked, regretting my decision when I saw his expression. His smirk preceded a patronizing remark.

"You don't see any more meaning of these drawings and writing? Nothing at all? Never mind, you'd not be able to realize. It's a bestiary speaking of supernatural happenings in the area of the Falls. It's about vampires, spirits, ghosts, incredible natural minerals, and new species. It's something that I am bound to discover and if needed add additional information. So now, I ask you. Are you in this or you decide to pursue your meaningless goal?"

"Of course I am in, you crazy? " I answered swiftly.

"But I hope I can't stress enough the fact that you mustn't tell anyone about this, right?"

"When have I ever exposed anything like this…"I said, scratching my head, knowing that he was about to retell my mistakes…

"Should I remind you of the time I explicitly told you not to say where the gifts are hidden and you went straight to mom and dad and you blurted out exactly what I told you not to?"

"Fine, I promise, that I will shut my face, ok?"

Now, since we had a lot of trust issues mainly because I have proven time and time again that I am completely irresponsible and silly in everything I do, Dipper came downstairs with me. As if I were oblivious to what we just talked, I went straight to Wendy:

"Hey Wendy, guess what Dipper found in a strange box in the forest…" it was at this moment that he jumped from behind me and sealed my mouth shut with his hand, while intervening visibly panicked.

"Nothing. At all. Actually, it's a rare species of birds, it's called Passeridae and it's indigenous to the South American continent," he finished his made up plea with a forced laugh.

"Sounds great, you ought to show it to me some time," Wendy said absently lost in the act of reading her magazine.

"Well, maybe you should come to the woods with us…" Dipper stopped before going through what could only be referred to as a date proposal. Thankfully, for him, she didn't notice anything, but he couldn't stop talking, so I, as the caring and loving sister I am, had to drag him out of the room. I was rewarded with a short "Thanks!" after which he quickly went back to our room and started studying his journal again.

 _June 30th._ Three days have passed since the diary/journal (I can't decide right now) was found. And boy, did things escalate quickly. Let's start as we are taught in school, with a general presentation of the events at hand. Let's say that everything that was written in there about zombies, elves, gnomes, vampires, wonder substances, strange inventions and the list goes on, was indeed true. This being said imagine reliving that whole series filled with supernatural stuff, but this time with added shenanigans. Yes, it's amazing, yet frightening and can scar you for life, be that physical or emotional. Let me tell you what this actually means. Pursuing my summer goal, I found, after some fruitless attempts (I don't want to talk about them), I've finally found someone who was caring, supportive, listened to me and was generally sweet and loveable. We went on many dates that, now that I am looking back at, were surrounded by infatuation. I did most of the talking, while he grunted and only approved in a laconic fashion. I couldn't deny that our two days relationship, so-to-speak was based on made up beliefs, by which I stood strongly. It was only when Dipper cautioned me that he might be some sort of zombie (he used the term undead, to be precise), that I really upped my game but it was only to prove him wrong. I couldn't say that I was driven by nothing but a burning desire to taunt my brother because he was finally wrong. And he was… but so was I. I was about to go on my big date when he told me of his theory, we had a fight, following which I ran off to my so-called lover.

That day, the forest seemed so strange. It was summer, yet the palette of colors was so autumnal, it was very odd. The jolly forest critters were hiding from something, predicting ominousness… I found Norman (his name was Norman, by the way), sitting on a hill, strange whispers coming from, and it will be clear later what I mean, inside him. After a while of talking and sharing, he grabbed my hand and then, taking a dramatic pose, like a superhero brooding over his hometown. He said a secret couldn't compromise this relationship, but it had to be revealed… So, he showed me his inner self(s). And those brackets are really well placed, because, as I found out, Norman was in fact 5 little gnomes, who flatteringly offered me to become their queen. After one of the most embarrassing speeches I had to give in my life, I politely refused, but they kidnapped me anyway, saying that I will become their queen, whether I want it or not. Skipping over the whole damsel in distress scenario and Dipper being the Prince Charming who had saved me, we reach the conclusion of this story. The gnomes, forming a ginormous gnome controlled gnome. It had chased us from the heart of the forest to the woods, to the shack, where we double-crossed him, convincing I will marry their leader, while actually I had planned to do something else. As the canonical words "You may now kiss the bride" left my mouth, I had a leaf blower ready, a weapon that was super effective against these small dwarves. We did quick work of them, by sucking one of them in, then shooting him straight at the monster, destroying its integrity. Soon enough they had left and we weren't bothered again.

We were both looking as if we got hit by a tornado, or a bus (which will be later remarked by Grunkle Stan), but this didn't stop Dipper from doing what I could only regard as a sign that maybe this summer will be something else.

"Hey, Mabel," he called me, his voice shaking.

"Yeah?" I answered a bit unsure.

"I am sorry for all that has happened. You know harassing your boyfriend, trying to talk you out of this, almost trading you off for the gnomes. Things like these, things that happen on a daily basis."

"I'm sorry too, for overreacting back there. I may have said words I didn't truly mean… But in the end I want to thank you that you've come and saved me. You are a good lil' bro."

"Awkward hug?"

"Awkward hug."

 _June 31_ _st_ _._ This is me, with a late entry at 3:00 am. I just woke up from a nightmare. I was on the same road to the Falls, same course of events, same crash, same explosion, but now I wasn't resting safely on the edge of the pit. I was knocked into it, and I was falling to my death. The earth was closing in rapidly and I wasn't fully conscious of my actions. I was dizzy and flopping in the air like a fish out the water (great metaphor I know). Suddenly I hear a metallic clang and I can see the claws of a grappling hook. Then in a flash, a dark silhouette grabs me mid-air and places me back on my safe space. I cannot catch a glance of his face, due to his black hood, but I could see his shiny azure eyes. Then he vanished…


	2. Wittle ol' Gideon

_June 31st._ This day is fun so far. Sitting behind the counter is extremely interesting. You get to meet so many unique people, for example this guy who wanted to buy a genuine yeti claw and wanted information regarding the date it was collected, the type of beast and the manner in which it was procured. He was funny. However, we had other plans for later this day. But first, let me explain the situation between Stan and a little very cute boy (you'll see the reason behind this qualification a bit further), who is somehow his rival. Now, the Mystery Shack and li'l Gideon's Tent of Telepathy were not the friendliest associations. Their competition blossomed into hatred after several "unintentional mishaps" between the two, and now we have ourselves forbidden to enter his establishment (it's hard to sound elaborate and also not repeat when you are trying to write). However, since we have little to no caring for what grunkle says, we went there anyway, fueled by our burning need to test this kid's telepathic powers. This came after Soos had shown us one of the best commercials I've ever seen.

The tent was nothing short of what I expected. A tent, with a nice little eye gizmo on top of it and a slightly fat usher, selling tickets for the show. We've occupied our seats swiftly, not before Dipper had time to complain about every aspect of our entire escapade.

"Why did I let you talk me into doing this?"

"Because you wanted to prove to me that he is a complete fraud? And I wanted to prove you wrong."

"True, but still I have my bitter regrets."

Now, the show. It was amazing. Well structured, superbly designed and choreographed by a professional. And the little kid was so cute, at first I thought he was a human doll. And his hair, was so fluffy and white and well-groomed, it was making me jealous.

"Noticed anything weird?" asked Dipper, after the show was over.

"Apart from the show's awesomeness? No, why?"

"When he told us to get up from our seats, we all did simultaneously, without any control over it."

"You're just jealous of his cuteness and now you're trying to make him as something he is not."

"Come on Mabel, he is a fraud. His powers are based on deductions that a baby can make?"

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

"I must only disprove one thing he said and it's the easiest job ever. He deduced your name was Mabel and he found that out, reading your sweater… He said the police officer has come here before while he was holding the highest amount of merchandise possible…He said that an old lady isn't called by her grandsons, which applies to all old ladies. Should I continue?"

"Whatever you say, I still think his dance moves are adorable and his hair is amazing."

What I didn't know at the time, is that he was eavesdropping on this conversation. Otherwise I can't figure out how the following day he showed up to our door… (Just a quick note, I decided to drop the dates, because, let's face it nobody really wants to know when things have happened. The mystery is better than everything else)

"Howdy", he said.

"Hey, it's wittle ol'you," I answered trying to mimic his accent and reference his last show.

"That's one way to put it, but let me get to business. I'd like to tell you that from the second I've seen you yesterday, I couldn't get your joyful giggle out my head. Now, I don't think we've formally met. I am Gideon Gleeful, how about you?"

"Well, you know my name already, you little psychic, right?"

"Right, right, it's Mabel. You know, that's a pretty name, that I would like to hear spoken somewhere else."

"Like where?" I didn't catch his drift then, and I am sorry that I hadn't.

"Perhaps in my dressing room. Where I could see you successfully bezzazled with all my make-up…"

That was apparently a date invitation, and I had fallen right in his trap. Returning home, from my gleeful experience, to my frightened brother, due to my "wolverine" appearance. At the time, I felt as if he was my friend, because I finally found a boy (not a girl, because girls are horrible) who would do girlish stuff with me, and I was happy, but I didn't understand how quickly it would escalate, until our second "date". It was on the rooftop of his father's factory. It indeed was an astounding view and a never before encountered feeling of power, reigning supreme over the feeble peasants down below…as remarked by Gideon. I think this was the point at which he confessed to me, that he had a crush on me, in a poetic manner, proclaiming himself a king over the Falls and me, his queen. I couldn't refuse his cuteness, and I kind of agreed to go on a date with him, not a play date, not a shopping date, but a date date. Dipper warned me this is not the way boys work, and that he will fall for me, but I am not that loveable am I? Turns out I am, as Gideon has come to my door on a horse, calling me his lady.

Fast forwarding to the restaurant and fast forwarding through our date, I found myself in one of the most uncomfortable situations in my life. After the amazing conversations we've had, during which I desperately tried to insinuate, rather than blatantly point out that it's best that we stayed friends, and that the feeling wasn't mutual, the bill came. Not the physical bill, but the conclusion of our meeting. After a few wisecracks with the crowd who has gathered around the campfire while ol' Gideon was telling tales, the people evaporated into thin air at his command, and…

"Today's date was exquisite wasn't it?"

"It sure was."

"Well, tomorrow's is sure to surpass it by a long shot."

"Sure… wait. Tomorrow's? I agreed to one date, that's it."

Then of course, serendipity happens. An immense bird flies in over my head surprising me, then, to my amazement, it sent another date invitation.

"So, what's your answer…"

And now the grand finale. The folks who were all around us earlier, feeding of Gideon's stories, returned…pressuring me into accepting to go out again. Marvelous. The same scenario happened later on, when after the ball we attended, we went on a boat ride. As I laid there dying…of anxiousness to cut all the strings of this relationship (yes I do read), desperately trying to underline that we are JUST friends, he leaned in to kiss me, but I masterfully refused. And now, I was stuck in an endless dating loop, without ever standing a chance of getting out. Now I was stuck thinking out loud solution, while pacing in the living room…

"Can't you just simply tell him that you don't like him in that way?"

"No, because the second I am trying to cut him off, he drags me like quicksand into the romance zone."

"Then you can stretch him out, until he will get bored, I mean it's not like you'll have to marry Gideon, right?"

"Good news, Mabel, you have to marry Gideon!" Stan yelled as he was entering the room. "It's part of my arrangement with Buddy Gleeful, so forget about your plans and prepare to grow old together!"

That was the last straw my feeble mind could've supported. I ran away in the attic, going to an old childhood place, called sweater town. It was a whimsical place, where I could run away and forget my troubles, until they came hitting me again, harder than ever. I could hear a door opening, but I couldn't guess who it was.

"Mabel?" Dipper's voice rung out.

"Mabel is not here, she's in sweater town, leave a message."

"Look, do you want me to help you break this up? Because this has gone on long enough and I don't like seeing you like this?"

"Would you do that for me?"

"Of course, you're my sister after all."

I couldn't thank him enough, and I cannot describe how my soul was set at ease by him leaving for my date. I couldn't bear any more stress and pressure put upon myself to date him. I mean, I liked Gideon as a friend or a little sister I could do girly stuff with, but he had apparently gotten the wrong idea, and I pity people who have strong, yet unshared feelings. It's amusing that although Dipper is close to what Gideon is feeling right now (despite I believe the little guy is drifting to infatuation rather than love), he isn't solidary at all. But I guess he balances what Gideon does to me with what he should feel and decides that this is the right thing to do.

He returned pretty quickly and his expression was that of success. I didn't think he would fail, based on his résumé regarding frankness, however I don't know how, this "break-up" doesn't really fill me up with joy. I think letting him take the fall for me wasn't the best thing I've ever done…

Dipper had gotten a call the following day. It was Toby Determined, the guy whose reputation we almost ruined last week, accusing him of murder. Needless to say we weren't on very friendly terms with him, but surprisingly he wanted to bury the hatchet and invited Dipper to his office in order to listen to his stories and theories about the strange happenings in this town. He was thrilled to receive this call and left right away to 412 Gopher Road, with a bag full of notes and sketches, and his journal of course.

I didn't know how to spend my evening alone, without Soos or Dipper, so I decided to watch TV, before starting to write in my diary. I just shut it off and was heading upstairs, when I heard loud, heavy knocks on the door. I ignored them, leaving Stan to take care of the situation, but they wouldn't stop.

"Can someone see who it is? I am counting my black money!" Stan yelled from the shop.

I stopped and sighed, but opened the door to find no one, but a small piece of paper lying on the doormat. The message it sent was… strange.

"Dipper is in great danger, Mabel. What Dipper didn't tell you is that Gideon snapped the second he told him the bad news, and that he blames your brother for you not liking him. Remember 412 Gopher Road? You were there before…"

Even if I were there I don't actually remember, unless…

"Grunkle Stan where is Gopher Road?"

"Outside the town, on a hill, why?"

Then it came to me. Gideon had taken me there to show me the city and confess to me. And it is odd for Toby to call him there… There was something odd in here. I think I'd better check it out. It was quite a walk on foot from the Shack to the factory. It's good that the streets were heavily illuminated, shining light on the fact that the Gleefuls owned this city. The way towards their residence and their business was highlighted by lampposts. It was a nice view. The cliff enlightened by an almost spectral, otherworldly glow. The factory was now about 300 feet away. I could see a strange blue tint coming from the windows, but I just assumed that it was the ambient… However, when I've reached the glass door, and peeked through, I could see how Dipper was levitating while Gideon was threatening him with a pair of shears.

"Look, Gideon, we need to talk…"

"Oh, Mabel, hi… What brings you here?"

"Well, I want to say that what Dipper told you, and what I should've told you is entirely true."

"Oh, really?" the depression in his voice was hard not to be noticed.

"Yes, really, but we can still be friends, you know," I whispered silently getting closer to him.

"You mean that?"

"No, of course not, you psychopath, you threatened to kill my brother and you expect me to be ok with that?" I yelled, ripping his amulet off, realizing that that was the source of his power.

"Hey, give it back," he snapped at me, trying to reach his prize with his short stubby arms.

I threw it to Dipper, who taunted him, but I didn't expect that he would recklessly charge him through the window behind him! I couldn't hold in a concerned scream, but in an instant I realized that it was done, and there was nothing I could do about it… I heard the wood crack. Turning around, I thought I saw a few loose merchandises moving, but it was just my shook mind. But, something did happen. Another note appeared before me, same paper, same writing…

"Don't lose hope. Use his own powers against him." Lifting the paper, I saw his amulet and on it another note: „Squeeze it in your hand and you can have all the telekinetic powers you can think of."

Without thinking any further, I grabbed the trinket and jumped out the window, crushing his tie in my hand. The wind was harsh, grazing my cheeks as my fall sped up more and more. I was scared, I didn't want to die just because I believe something a mysterious being might have made up. Suddenly, I stopped. The two were still bickering below me, screaming as they approached their demise. With my newfound control I felt powerful, liberated from the laws of physics. I floated towards them, stopping them mid-air and turning them around to witness my angelic descent. Then, as I set foot on the ground, I let them go.

"Look, Gideon, I will never ever date you, is that clear?"

Then I broke his amulet, to rid the world of his powers.

"Noooo," his scream echoed in the valley. "You may have crushed my amulet, but this is not the last time you hear of me," he threatened us as he disappeared into the dark forest.

We returned home and jumped into bed straight away, because it was a long day for both of us… As usual we began our usual before-sleep chatter.

"You know, I can't understand what made you come after me."

"Well, there is this thing. I think we have someone taking care of us."

"What do you mean?"

"I have found a series of notes, related to the incidents of today. This person told me to come and see if something's wrong with your meeting, and revealed to me the power of Gideon's amulet…"

"Are you serious?"

"No, silly, I made it all up, of course I am serious!"

"Wow, you know what this means? "I opened my mouth but he continued without letting me answer. "Someone can be here listening to this very conversation, stalking us, following our every move, and we cannot do anything about it…"

"Oh, don't you worry your big head. Relax, I am sure this guy or girl is really nice? Right, mystery person?" I yelled trying to get the attention of our savior, but to no response.

"Go to sleep, Mabel. Good night," Dipper said turning off the lamp, forcing me to go to sleep.

"Good night."

This is another entry of my dream journal (because I don't have time or money for many diaries). I was in a grass field, alone, the sun glowing bright and warm over me. I found a small note before me:

"Hello, Mabel."

And next to it another one, and another one, I counted ten of them in a series.

"Yes, it is true, I am following you."

"Also, I have the power to enter dreams, because I found a relic the moment I came here."

"Don't worry, I am not evil."

"I actually saved you from that bus crash, plotted by an arch nemesis of mine and of the town."

"My goal is to protect you, your brother and your grunkle from anything that would harm you."

"Also, you have seen my influence over your dreams for a while now, but you have never seen my face."

"Only my gleaming green eyes."

"You will soon meet me, but it may not be what you expect. I am not a vampire."

"But, I sure have something in store for you."

The trail ended, but the last note had an arrow pointing to a small hill. I followed the directions, baffled by what I just discovered. Reigning over the hill were the ruins of a small hut. Inside it, on a table there was yet another note, marked with a red X.

"Love is something subjective, yet objective. Do not let it define your life, your decisions, your opinions. Decide to be above the angels and demons that govern you."

And with this little gem of a quote, I woke up from my dream and fell back to sleep.


	3. The Party

I shouldn't out the date now, should I? Of course not, but I should put the time. It's party time! Why the party? Because Stan has thought of a new marketing campaign. It's funny how an old man can actually be ingenious with such things. He thought that the party could be a great way to determine the Gravity Falls youth, to finally spend some money around his forever living attraction. Good for him, that he doesn't become a cranky grandpa as everyone else of his age. Now, everyone had a job. Ours was to make the flyers and spread them out to the crowd. "

"A trip to the copier store?" I asked eager to go see the calendars and beautiful T-shirts.

"Not today, kiddo, I fixed the old copier in my office, the old girl should be up and at them, ready to deliver paper cash to us."

"That still can be fixed?" Dipper asked surprised.

"Sure thing, now go, time costs me a penny a second."

The copier was looking as if it had been through a dozen wars before finally crashing and settling down in a farm far away from the horrors it had seen (like, letters and written tests, that make it shiver with fear).

"Fire it up, already, I want to see the invites fly out!" I exclaimed with a burning desire for "chaos".

"Hold your horses, I will do it…" Dipper grunted, exasperated by my newfound enthusiasm.

He turned on the old machine and, with a cloud of smoke and dust, it emitted the faint light of any printer. Just for testing purposes, Dipper rested his arm on top of it and tried copying his hand. A neatly, colored version of his forearm, wrist and hand, on a piece of paper. Acknowledging this success we have started working on our task, but to Dipper's amazement, the hand he had copied, exited the paper and started crawling towards him. With a girly scream, I knew he was capable of, he dropped his glass of punch over it, and the stray limb evaporated into thin air, as mysteriously as it appeared.

"You know what this means, right? This machinery can not only copy documents, but humans as well!" Dipper heroically claimed.

"Wow, amazing!" I remarked sarcastically.

With the flyers now fresh and our job with the old girl done, we came back to report to General Stan, who aligned us side by side and gave us all assignments. Soos was going to be the DJ and me and Wendy will work at the ticket stand.

"But grunkle Stan, this is my only shot of making new friends!" I cried as I heard the news.

"Besides, I can work there, with… Wendy." That was Dipper being subtle.

"Really? You know what this means, right? You've got to be there all night, with Wendy, alone, never leaving, clear?"

After another "subtle" longing stare at Wendy, Dipper has nodded in agreement and the dice have been thrown. Of course, that my job as a twin sister is to constantly tease him about his crushes, therefore, as he was getting ready for the party, and as I have been prepared for this for a long time, I decided to scare him. Being too focused on the mirror, he didn't notice me behind him…

"Hey, Dipper," I said calmly.

"Ah! What?"

"Woah, chill out, I didn't come to arrest you. I came to ask what your move is."

"My move? What do you mean?"

"Come on, you know what I mean. What are your plans with Wendy?"

"Oh, that. Well, I have devised a plan that would aid me in succeeding my goal."

"Please, not another one of those complicated list thingies…"

"Now, if I follow this series of steps, it should work like a charm. Step one: casual banter, which is like talking, but smarter. The final step is asking her to dance with me."

"Pfff, you're overcomplicating things as usual, when what should you do is just go talk to her, like any normal person would do. Please don't tell me that's on your list." I said that last sentence with an ounce of regret, as I saw his eyes gleaming.

"Step nine, sis, step nine. Anyway, if I follow these carefully created steps, nothing should get in my way and I could leave this party with a smile on my face."

"Dipper, you're the only one who's getting in your way, and you won't get anywhere with nothing you set your mind up to, until you realize this…"

But he was already gone to take his place at the booth, before I could even finish my…banter. I rolled my eyes and sighed, as I climbed down to the party room. And I was astonished. There were easily 50 people already there, dancing and having a good time, leading me to believe that there was something fishy happening. But as it turned out people really like to party in small towns. Without further ado, I got down to the dance floor and started doing what everybody else did. Occasionally I glanced outside the window to check on the two wannabe lovebirds, but Dipper was screwing it up as always. He's so good at anything else that doesn't involve social contact, that it's sad, how someone so logic and calculated as himself cannot resolve such a simple situation. I will have some work to do with him…

After a good half an hour of prancing over the floor, dancing as I knew best, I decided to take five and sit next to someone. I spotted an empty chair, and I welcomed the friends I would make. Maybe, I was a bit hasty, because I felt like something was under my butt. And guess what it was… a note.

"You're getting tired, I see. I would strongly advise you to take care of the Dippers tonight. By the way, I am here too."

Splendid. I didn't have time for some mystery dude sending me notes, right now, because I had to initiate friendships. And anyway, what the heck did he mean by number of Dippers. This person is becoming more of a nuisance rather than a helping hand. But never do you mind that, Mabel. You have to make friends.

(Oh, just so you know, I am writing these pages as if I just thought of them, because I love the impression of subjectivity it gives over the situation. It kinda makes me relive these amazing moments.)

"Hey there, how are you doing?" I asked a very muscular girl, with a tiny lizard companion that was adorable.

"I'm fine," she replied in the deepest voice, I could think a girl could have. I liked that, it made her unique in both appearance and personality.

"Woah, that's a very lovely bass voice you got there, champ." I tried joking around. To my surprise, she had actually tasted the gag.

"Thank you. I'm Grenda, this is Candy."

"Wow, you've got forks on your hands," I almost shouted as I noticed Candy having silverware taped to her fingers.

"Augmentation of the human species," she answered.

"Cool! I'm Mabel, by the way."

Suddenly, a blonde girl and her crew, because I don't think there's any other way of describing the other girls, walked by me. They stopped only at Soos's DJ booth, in order to ask for the party crown, which was given to whoever… I don't think I've got to explain this. Anyway, her attitude was pretty stuck up, and when she started calling my new friend names, I've had enough. This is why I angrily paced towards her, but then I remembered there was no point in starting a war, therefore, with a big fake smile, I claimed:

"I will compete for the crown. Hi, I'm Mabel and you must be Pacifica."

"That sounds like a fat old lady's name."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Oh, but you're going to go down, and eat your words soon enough. This party is going to blow the roof and we'll rock this house until we break it down. But enough rhymes, it's time to win this dance-sing-game-off. It all started well, with a bit of dancing, a bit of showing of, but then things got real. The karaoke was on. Pacifica had broken enough glasses and windows with her sharp, yet amazing voice, but now it was my turn. I would've sung "Always means forever" but she got it before me, so now I had another ace up my sleeve. It's called "Moving forward". I stepped on the stage, determined to win this competition, but guess what… it wasn't there. I browsed through the entire library and no trace of that song. Then, I noticed the familiar note on the side…

"Not all we want happens. Try this son, instead. I'll guarantee the crowd, and you will love it."

Ok, this is starting to annoy me. It's like this person is governing my life, and I hate it. But I can't argue that his notes do turn out better than what I have in mind. I feel like Dipper is starting with his superiority over anything rigmarole, which I've despised. For now, though, it's best to enjoy the decisions someone else makes for me.

"Ok, dudes, one last song and this party is going to find its queen, it's going to be legend," and now he played a "BOOM!" sound "Dary."

And now it was my shot. I didn't want enemies, just friends so maybe, I could still cough up one of the best make up lines ever conceived. This wasn't the case:

"Look, Pacifica, in the end, even if we win or lose, it doesn't matter, all that counts is that we had fun, right?"

"You hear that? Weird girl gets applauded? No? I thought so."

"So, now let's hear it for Mabel!" Soos' shouted in the microphone. The crowd cheered me on, fact measured by his right hand.

"Well, that's something, now let's hear it for Pacifica!"

The crowd applauded but the looks on their faces proved that what they did was forced and uneasy… Out of fear, the blonde had gathered as much "flow" as me, but she had quickly left the stage as she saw the draw that was about to happen. An old man was sitting, passed out or asleep in the corner. She was about to bribe him with a twenty dollar bill in her hand, but suddenly she stopped, as if hypnotized. But only then I saw a boy, about our age, speaking to her. Pacifica was visibly shook, but not angry, not afraid, just remorseful… She turned around, and her interlocutor just vanished as quickly as he appeared. Returning to the stage, however she became her overconfident, proud self…

"Oh, looks like it's a tie! This means that…ummm." Soos nervously started searching through his book, but as the crowd got more anxious someone had to step in. It was Pacifica.

"Well, then it seems that this party shouldn't end. Let's move it to…my parents' boat!"

And as fast as they came, they were all gone. It only took more partying to crash a party. It seems preposterous (I found a dictionary in Stan's office, so prepare for big words future me), that fire kills fire, but in the end this is the result. I looked around me and the mess left was unbelievable. Guess whose day will be completely destroyed tomorrow by working. I felt a light tap on the back.

"Hey, Mabel what are you doing, the party is still on?" Candy yelled as if the loud music was still playing.

"Shouldn't you guys go home by now?" I asked surprised they were still here.

"Then, we'd miss the sleepover, wouldn't we? Come on, now that the crowd is gone, the REAL party can begin!"

"Oh, you guys! Soos, fire it up!" I said as we began dancing through the night.

This is what happened after the party. I climbed upstairs and entered my room to find Dipper wide awake, reading the journal as always…

"Hey, so how'd it go?" I tried making some before bed small talk.

"Not so great. You know the age difference, and she found another guy."

"Ugh, sorry little bro. Wait…you didn't do what the list said, did you?"

"Ehh, mostly," he answered. "But after cloning myself a dozen times and speaking to myself for a half an hour after we've both been deceived made me rip it up. Now, I've promised to not be such a wimp around Wendy anymore. But enough about me, how about you, how was the party? I kinda missed most of it."

"Well, I've made two new friends and some girl now holds a grudge on me for partying as hard as herself, but the rest is fine."

"How about the Note-guy?"

"Ugh, please don't remind me of him… He's starting to creep me out… Although, today he was actually very helpful."

"How so?"

"Well, first of all, he warned me about your cloning antics, then he suggested me a song to replace the one I wanted to sing, but wasn't in the library, and finally, and this takes the cake. I think I saw him today."

"Wait, really? Where, how did he look? Did he have 4 arms and a trench coat?" Dipper was in rapid fire mode with these questions, having a pencil ready to note down everything I would've said.

"No, he was actually a very normal looking boy. I couldn't see his face, though, but he apparently said something to Pacifica that made her quit her manipulative intentions and give up…"

"That's interesting… I may have noticed a pattern in his actions."

"What is it?"

"I am not sure, I'll need further research. For the moment, good night, sis."

"Good night, bro!"

Now, of course here comes the dream… Fade in. Interior, day, old 90's gangster styled office. Me, staying on a chair, in my usual clothing, about to face off with the mob boss, whose only visible body part was his pale hand. Enough, screenplay writing now. I was certain this was him, again, following me in my dreams. But maybe this time I will be able to talk to him, find out why he does what he does…

"Hello, I'm Mabel, and you are?"

Not answering apparently…

"Ok, so by the looks of it, you must be the guy who has been stalking me and my brother for some time now, and I will ask you to stop now."

A note appeared in his hand. Why doesn't that surprise me…?

"I am not doing this to creep you out, nor to annoy you. Think of it as a duty, because this is what it actually is. I am sorry for any inconveniences I may have caused."

"This doesn't seem right… Who is forcing you to do this? Why are you doing this? Who are you?"

The writing on his earlier note changed.

"All in due time…Pick one."

Pick one? I guess pick one question.

"Who are you?"

"I am the one who was employed by a greater force to protect you, until the time is nigh," the new note read.

"This doesn't answer my question, like at all."

He shook his hand as if he wanted to tell me: "Too bad, that's all you get."

"Was it you who I saw today at the party?"

"Yes, it was me. Don't worry, you'll see more of me soon enough. Until then, sleep tight, Mabel," he said through his piece of paper.

"Goodbye…"

I got up from my chair and was about to leave, when I heard a sharp screech coming from his chair. He was now looking out the window and I could see his whole silhouette. He was as tall as Dipper, maybe one inch bigger. His hair was blue and despite not showing it off, he was very strong, judging by his grip on the window sill. One last significant detail, before I left was his hat. Somewhat strange, a very tall, narrow top hat, looking as if it was made for an eccentric millionaire.

"One more thing," his voice sounded like the wind blowing through a rusty gate. "Take care of what you do… I may not save you every time."

And so, I woke up. It's becoming really repetitive…


	4. Going Back in Time

So, it has been a pretty long while, since I have written anything in this diary, but that's not because anything had happened, but because it was a pretty stale week. Just a bit of casual government business we had to take care of. Nothing special, just discovering a top secret and heavily guarded classified information that has been buried for about a century. Forget about that. Today it's a more important day. Today was a great day (because it's around 11 PM now so there isn't much left) for two main reasons. First one is that I got a new pet pig, whose name is Waddles, that's now happily snoring near me in bed. The second one is that I got over Norman and found myself a new crush, somehow in this crazy day. Now let me change styles again and go over the events in chronological order (this dictionary is really heavy).

It began with Grunkle Stan asking us to go around the fair and stick some inspection certificates all over the fair he had rented for the week. It seemed like it was about to break down at every ride in the roller coaster, or the carousel, but who am I to judge? It was a…fairly fair fair (I know you love puns), with plenty of opportunities for social interactions, if you know what I mean. It was a perfect place for my two lovebirds to interact. But, I also enjoyed watching tourists trying to dunk Grunkle Stan, but little did they know the bullseye they tried shooting at was welded. It was a rip-off, but at least one person was happy. Now, returning to Dipper and Wendy. I couldn't help but giggle as they were speaking to each other and… laughing. Dipper was funny for once…maybe. She left to clean the mustard that has fallen on her shirt, leaving me with an opportunity to chat to my brother and see how things were going.

"Awww, look at you two, getting all romantic at the carnival."

"Ehh, it's no big deal," he tried to hide his excitement, but lying was not his forte.

"It is a big deal!" I said smiling.

"You're right! It is a big deal! I asked her to come to the fair with me and you know what she said? "Yeah, I guess so." All your advice worked out eventually!"

"Dipper, Dipper, Dipper,"I said using his usual condescending tone. "When are you going to learn that I am always right about everything?" I didn't feel any guilt for such a bold statement. But I couldn't tell him more because I was temporarily muted by the smell of a bucket of body spray. And we woke up with Robbie behind us.

"Any of you see Wendy around?

Of course, no one answered the confident zitty teenager, but Dipper couldn't help cracking wise:

"Yeah, I've seen her in the Bottomless Pit, maybe you should jump in after her."

"Oh, maybe…maybe I will, smart guy!"

He was as insupportable as someone could be, but I couldn't deny he may have more chances than Dipper had with Wendy. Still, I was supportive until I saw the cutest thing ever. Piglets! They were so cute as they rolled around in the mud, flopping their short, stubby legs in the air, it made me just "Awww" internally. The crowd was dense, and I didn't expect that there were actually people queuing up to get them. I recognized Pacifica in the line a couple of positions in front of me. By the time five people were left there was only one pig left. I considered myself unlucky, but decided to get closer to the sty and see the little piggies from up close. One of them even oinked my name! Or "doorbell". Mabel or doorbell.

"Wow, Mabel you've found your real twin?" Pacifica laughed as she backed away from the line, thinking I didn't see her buying the last piglet, the one who called my name.

Ugh, I wanted one of those so badly and seeing her leaving with the last cutie, not even winning it but buying it, made me both sad and mad. I wanted to forget about this as soon as possible, and the only way I could think of was with sugar-induced amnesia. So I grabbed some candy floss and started biting chunks of it slowly…

I could see Dipper and Wendy taking a shot at a carnival game. They were laughing, having a good time, until bad luck decided to crash the party… My clumsy little brother had managed to miss that stack of bottles so perfectly, that the ball decided to quit its job and just buy a vacation home on Wendy's eye. Desperate, he tried grabbing some ice from a bucket behind him, but he was so lost, that he bumped into some fat guy and dropped his pack… Robbie had gotten already to Wendy and I could see the last glimmer of hope from Dipper's eyes die out. He froze as his heart broke into many tiny pieces. I felt sad for him, and as I was already sad, this didn't help me much. However, I wasn't going to be sad for much longer, because I heard a familiar "Mabel" like oinking from behind me. I was so lost in my thoughts that I missed the fact that a person sat down next to me. I looked at him, and he looked at me. Suddenly, my mind farted and I made a silly face at him causing an explosion of laughter. I laughed alongside him, not knowing what to do, how to initiate a conversation now that I got his attention. Thankfully I didn't need to…

"I saw you in the line for that pig game. You seemed very disappointed you didn't get one, so I decided to get one for you."

"You didn't steal it, right?" I asked nervously, followed by a forced giggle. But my question remained, because as I remembered, it was Pacifica's piglet…

"No, I got it from an old friend, who owed me something. The deal was made under the condition that I shouldn't give this little guy to a girl named Mabel."

"Umm…" I pointed to my sweater, reading Mabel.

"Well, I will pretend I didn't see it," he answered to my disbelief with a friendly smile. "Here."

And he handed me the leash with the small piglet.

"Awww, he's so cute. I'mma call him Waddles! Because he WADDLES" I screamed out of joy, while shaking and hugging the small critter. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't notice the friendly guy leaving and he would've almost vanished without a trace, if I wouldn't see him bumping into the same fat guy from earlier, who gave him a very threatening glare…

"Wait! Why did you do this? Who are you?"

"I like seeing people happy. My name is Tobias and I guess I'll see you around."

Oh, no, you won't see me around, because I will seek you… That didn't come out as I wanted it to. But enough of him, for the moment, apart from the obvious statement that he will be my boyfriend, because I will fight for his affection. Now, to focus on my little bro's broken heart. Maybe my new companion will help.

"Dr. Waddles preparing to mend a broken heart. Begin operation, doc!" I tried to cheer him up, but he answered with a very pathetic "ugh". Obviously since I am not giving up that easily, I pushed a bit further and then…

"Do you ever want to turn back in time and fix one mistake? Just one little thing?"

"No, I always do things right in the first place. Why?"

"Well, Wendy went out with Robbie, because he had ice and I would have had ice too, if it weren't for THAT GUY!" he yelled pointing out the same fat man as earlier.

"Huh?" the man in question replied.

"Don't huh me what's your deal? Are you following us around?"

"And…and why are you bald? Yeah, what's with that?" I tried to continue his argument.

"Uh…uh… Position compromised. Engaging stealth protocol," he shouted trying to blend in, his gray skintight suit changing colors randomly. "Uh, COLOR MATCH! Initiating color match!" he then continued trying to fix his strange watch with a screwdriver.

"Woah, you from the future or something?" I asked trying to learn more about this interesting character.

"Uh…Uh…Memory Wipe!" he mumbled nervously throwing a baby wipe in my face.

"Wrong kind of wipe." Dipper said, momentarily forgetting his anger, looking like he realized something.

"Uh…Uh," he was a very nervous man, based on this tell of his. "Fine, you caught me, I'm a time traveler."

"So…you have a time machine?" Call me stupid, but I didn't know where he was going at…

"That's pretty much, how it works, you know?"

Only when I saw him looking at Wendy and Robbie in the Ferris wheel, I got what my little brother wanted…

"Can I borrow it?"

"Absolutely not! It's a very sensible piece of equipment that can cause more harm than you can imagine!"

"I don't buy it, man, you must be crazy." Dipper tested his nerves in a way that could only lead to him foolishly proving his device's capacity?

"Oh, that so?" He pulled his small tape measure and disappeared before our very eyes, only to reappear seconds later in some old fashioned, conquistador clothes.

"Wow!" we both exclaimed, our mouths falling open.

"Yes, that's right…"

"Yeah, yeah we know, amazing. Now Mr.…"

"Blendin Blandin."

"Right. You look tired. How about you take a break from all of your time travelling and lay down a bit?"

So, Dipper was desperate enough to trick a man from the future, into giving him his time machine and go back in time to fix his Wendy problem. How remarkably cute. But he should be careful. These people are a lot more smart, more agile and tricky to fool. I think that finally Dipper has found his match in both intellect and slyness…

"You realize what we can do with this, Mabel?"

"Create time paradoxes like none could imagine?"

"No, that guy kinda freaked me out. He is here to sort out something I guess, so we better not cause any harm. What I am gonna do, though, is just go back in time and repair my mistake. I will make myself not miss that throw. No miss means no black eye which means no ice and most important of all, no Robbie."

"I'll come too. I wanna relive the best moment of my life!" I said regretting my decision afterwards.

"Winning Waddles?"

"Sure… winning Waddles," I said blushing.

"See you later, I guess."

"More like see you earlier."

He pulled the tape measurer and in the blink of an eye we were in the Shack again, but one significant difference. Outside the sun was shining brighter than ever. It wasn't evening anymore, but noon.

"It's 12 o'clock and the dunk tank is open! Come and dunk me folks!" Grunkle Stan's amplified voice broke the silence

"Wow… It worked! Holy… Well, Mabel, see you around here," Dipper said amazed, but quickly recollecting his thoughts and heading off to relive his day

"Ok then," I waved him goodbye. "Now off to the pigsty we go!"

Now it shouldn't be surprising that the same things happened. Absolutely no exception. And the way I was feeling didn't change one bit… It was superb, going again through the same emotion, I can't say I ever felt in my life. I knew someone, not forced, not family, cared for my happiness and well-being. I was just saying my final goodbyes when Dipper came to me with a face that didn't say success as much as it said my puppy is dead.

"Didn't do it, huh?"

"I missed. Again! How am I so clumsy? Can I not concentrate for one simple throw?" Dipper was pretty enraged, but thankfully, he had remembered that we still had the time machine

"I would think it's spooky. Maybe it's some sort of time-paradox. Can you say "time paradox", Waddles?" I couldn't get over my little pig's cuteness, so I hugged him so much, but no regrets.

"Maybe, a force of bigger proportion is conspiring against me, but no…it can't be. You know what, I've got to try again…yeah. Third time's the charm."

"Dooooo-Over," I yelled trying to lift our spirits. And they indeed had to be lifted…

I think it was about the tenth time in, when Dipper finally succumbed to his old passion. Maths. I was surprised that we hadn't heard from our beloved neighbor, the Note Guy. I unfortunately spoke too soon, as I noticed the small piece of paper behind Dipper's calculus. It was short this time… It read: "Your brother isn't always right. Don't trust him or you'll be hurt." Yeah. Sure…

"That's it!" Dipper exclaimed." I finally got it, the variable that was missing. Haha, I can't believe how easy it was."

"Great job, Dipper, now I am gonna go win my pig," I lied, knowing where I was heading.

"Woah, woah there. You can't go, I need you for my plan."

He needed me. To raise a pipe. Not something that he could've put someone else to do, but who am I to judge? Things turned out for the better. He got his perfect shot alas and I was happy to see him happy. Now off to the pigst… It was empty. I couldn't see my cute pig, nor my cute boy nowhere. That was until I heard a sorrowful and fearful squeal coming from nearby. It was Pacifica, with Waddles on a leash. And she was speaking with… what was his name again. DETAILS! What mattered now is that the timeline was screwed up badly and I lost my perfect pig pet and beautiful boy (alliterations pop out of me when I am stressed!) I couldn't leave this situation broken up and gravely derailed. I was so afraid that this was going to become canonic future, that I ran screaming towards the Love Tunnel to get the time machine and un-unfix whatever went wrong…

Dipper calmly waited for me to stop screaming. It took a while.

"You done?"

"I am done. Dipper we screwed up badly! Pacifica saw the flyer first and now she got…Waddles! Gimme that, I will repair this." I tried reaching for the tape measurer, but Dipper held back.

"Mabel, wait!" he shouted. "I did the math, and…however I looked at it, this was the only way Wendy doesn't go out with Robbie."

"Yeah, but this way Pacifica gets the guy…I mean Waddles!"

With this last desperate statement, I forcibly grabbed the time machine from him, but he didn't let go. A car came by and, after I was shoved so I wouldn't turn back time, the tip of the tape measurer got stuck in the door. After winding up for a long time, he wiggled it out, but we suddenly jumped out of our timeline. We ended up stranded on a dirty path.

"When are we?" Dipper asked.

"You mean… when. Oh."

"Yeah, beat you to it."

"Seems fair, seems fair."

The earth began to shake as a clopping sound grew stronger and stronger with the approach of a big dust cloud.

"What's that?"

"Oh, no, Mabel RUN!"

I didn't know what it was, but I trusted Dipper's instincts this time. We barely outran what I can only describe as a buffalo stampede, but in our mad rush, we fell off a cliff! Don't worry, we landed safely on a passing caravan, whose bags of flour cushioned our fall.

"What is this?" I asked confused… I couldn't hear a clear answer, but outside a group of people mumbled something inaudible for me. Dipper glared at me, telling me exactly how far back I sent us.

"You sent us back 150 years, genius! These people are on the Oregon trail!"

"Can't you send us back to the future?"

"Just gimme the time machine! I'll fix this!"

I don't know what possessed me to not leave him be. It was maybe the anger resulted from losing something I cared about. It may have been his selfishness and hypocrisy as he claimed that I can't mess with the past, when I told the kids inside the cart about my braces. The result was however, us teleporting between the hungry jaws of a dinosaur. Frantically pressing the buttons, we blinked through diverse periods of time. Of course, we fought over supremacy through different places we had been to already. The distant future, the lake at the time of the fishing contest, the shack during the gnome situation, some sort of wintery version of the Falls… After a few more blinks, the little dingy started to glow and became hotter and hotter.

"Wow, what's happening? Hot! Hot! HOT! "

"What did you do?"

"I don't know!"

Suddenly a flash of light emitted and we recovered from our shock in a dark, damp place.

"When did you send us?" I asked?

"YOU," he accentuated my fault," have sent us to the end of time.

We both screamed our lungs out, until I realized something was not at its place… It smelled horribly in here. I flailed my arms a bit and found a door knob, which I turned to reveal that we were stuck in the porta potty at the mystery fair.

"We're in the present!" I exclaimed relieved.

"But which present?" Dipper asked.

Well, two hints gave it away. Dipper saw Wendy with her prize and I saw my pig struggling to get away from the horrendous show I mentioned earlier. We both exclaimed our appropriate answer to this situation, but I broke down faster than him. I chased him for a bit, until he magically disappeared, only to reappear on top of the toilet…

"Look, give it up, Mabel. I've worked too hard to lose this! Besides, do you really want Wendy to date Robbie?"

"I… I don't know…"

I couldn't think of anything else to say. I was sad and depressed because I lost something resembling a soulmate. I may have said that about a ball of yarn, once but that doesn't make this not true… I wasn't able to be rational anymore. All I felt like was banging my head on something… Dipper mumbled something unintelligible to my anguish filled ears, then disappeared… It was for a moment that my emotion amplified, but then…with a miracle, it all vanished. I don't know what happened, and I don't want to know, because waking up in the middle of the fair, before everything went down the toilet was unbelievable. However, as before I didn't know what present I was in… I went to the pigsty as usual, to find the same familiar line… It was a different timeline after all, because everything turned out as it should've not as Dipper intended. I rushed to his game, after my "job" was done, to find him throwing the ball, knowing that he will miss. The ball recoiled, hit Wendy, Robbie came, asked her out. I couldn't express my happiness in words, so I hoped actions would speak for themselves. I ran to him, and hugged him, while yelling "Thank you!"( I know, "thank you" are words).

"Well, I couldn't leave you broken hearted, with roots climbing on top of you, could I?"

I noticed him looking at Wendy and Robbie laughing, and I couldn't help but empathize…Then something popped into my head…

"Waddles, attack!" I slapped his butt and showed him Robbie, and the cute little pig, attacked the teenager, eating his caramel apple, that he tried feeding to Wendy. Now, trying to get his revenge, he tried chasing my piglet, but he knocked over a bucket of hot water, causing his tight jeans to grow tighter compressing his legs in a deadly grip.

"Thanks, sis."

"Least I could do, bro."

It was a cool day overall at the fair. Well, about two dozen of them, but still a nice day. I learnt something important today. Dipper really cares about me, although he rarely shows it. Now I hope, that my dreams aren't going to be infected by the same ominous presence…

You know what this is, so I am not even going to bother to set it up. This time it was a simple monologue, same setting as before.

"You've met a lot of new people, so far. Some of them toy with powers you can't imagine. Some are nice, some are evil, some are open, and some are hiding things. Be careful with whom you ally yourself. Be careful who you trust…Be careful…" and he vanished without a trace…


	5. Treasure Hunt

It was a day like any other, what can I say. Sun shining bright, birds chirping in the morning, as we ate our usual special hairy pancakes, waiting for today's adventure… That should not be happening. At all! This is because, I've had so much so-called fun every day of the past weeks, that I could use some free time for myself. Just sitting at home. Not doing anything…that was unti…

"Mabel, I am going to explore an abandoned manor for the next couple of days, do you want to come?"

"Absolutely not. I'm tired of all this craziness. I'm gonna stay home and play dress-up with Waddles. Or knit him a sweater. Maybe spend some time with some of my girlfriends. Stuff like that."

"Bo-ring. Suit yourself."

I saw him packing up as if he were going on a mountain. A grappling hook, lots of rope, his journal, a big flashlight, those were pretty much what you get for a hiking, not an old manor. But, I guess to each his own. My curiosity peaked, however. I wanted to know some more details…

"So… where is this mansion?"

"You remember Gopher Road? A bit higher up from there. There are two hills bordering the town. One is just up our beloved road, the other is located opposite to it, where the Northwest mansion is situated," he said, pulling out a map from his backpack,

"And, why exactly are you going there?"

"It's the house of an old inventor, whose notes I found copied in the journal. Who knows, maybe I'll find something cool."

"You're going alone? Isn't that dangerous?" I realized how much of a mother I sounded right now, but I cared for my brother, the same way he cared about me (remember, that whole time travel…)

"Not really. I'm taking Soos and a guy he knows, so if I fall in a bottomless pit, I won't die slowly inside there."

"Ok, then have fun, little bro."

"I think that after that whole Gideon shrinking us fiasco, we established you'll refrain from using such appellatives."

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Good luck, then."

That was weird. He would usually let things like this, slide. Anyway, I had much more interesting things to do than babysit him. I've had a whole day to myself and the whole shack to myself, as Wendy had a day off and Stan was out of town doing an audite (I don't know that word's spelling, some legal thingies). You can guess, who I called right away and who showed up right away. The girls brought anything that I could've wanted for a mid-day slumber party.

"You know what time it is?"

"I suppose that this can only be regarded as the party time," Candy mumbled as always.

"YEAH! PARTY!" Grenda yelled as always.

It wasn't much of a party though. It was more like a girls' afternoon in, because what we did mostly was play board games, watch television series with vampires and werewolves and other supernatural things, all while talking about whatever we could think of.

"I don't think Wayne can win this last fight," Candy said referring to the final episode of the season of Supernatural Wars.

"Of course, he can, look at that…perfect...abdomen," I said melting at his hotness. "He will mop the floor with George's army of werewolves!"

"You're forgetting of Jensen's…"

Grenda was interrupted, by the ringing phone. I got up from my lazy pose on the sofa to answer. It was Dipper…

"Mabel! I need your help!"

"What, what's going on?"

"Come here, quick, I have no time to explain!"

Scared, I rushed to the well-known road, I've grown to hate, only to find something I've noticed before. Kind of a redeeming trait of this place. I don't think that I've ever seen the town from above before. It was beautiful to see it basking in the sun's glow. I stopped a bit on the way there to have my eyes blessed by this piece of natural art. It was as if a thunder had cracked the earth, and small ant-like houses emerged from the still burning ground, surrounded by two faithful mountainous guardians. Blissful… It wasn't long until I reached the abandoned manor, which was let's say less than abandoned… A big banner was covering the mansard's immense windows, reading "Treasure hunt: Find the missing inventions". Now, I was confused. Why the heck, would Dipper call me out here, just to show me that what he wanted to do was now impossible? It made no sense, whatsoever. Apparently, today this once deserted area was the site of a newly opened game, in order to attract tourists. I tried spotting Dipper through the dense crowd, but he found me first.

"Oh, thank God, you came, I thought I couldn't find what I was looking for…"

"Dipper? Did you call me to assist in one of your little conspiracies, again?"

"No, I called you because I needed a team of four, so I could enter…"

"Doesn't this thing have some sort of backdoor? Or a crack in the wall? Or a back-crack in the wall, anything?"

"No, I've checked that beforehand. I got here early morning, when they haven't opened yet, only to discover they had patched all the holes and spent the last couple of months renovating this old manor, transforming it into what it is today…"

"But…?" I asked visibly annoyed.

"But… unbeknownst of the organizers, somewhere deep inside this place lay hidden devices your mind couldn't even think they existed."

You know what? This sound like fun! I think I'll lose this uninterested attitude and just go with it.

"Fine, count me in," I said, my usual glee coming back in my voice.

Now, to quickly go over the rules, we were a team of four trying to find a set of relics hidden in the mansion, using nothing but a riddle and a small, undetailed map. We, of course wouldn't have to follow this, but we needed a team of four to enter, so I was eager to meet our (I can't help but giggle while writing this, I don't know why) fourth wheel. But, apparently, he must already be inside, because we had to find him as well. I don't know why, I don't ask questions anymore in this town… Jumping over the details of the opening speech and the cute little start (they had little pigeons fly out), we started. A thought crossed my mind, as we and some other teams broke up in the main hallway…

"Hey Dipper, couldn't you just say that a person was inside, so you didn't have to call me?"

"Not really, they do a check-up," he said absently, while looking for a page in the journal.

"And who is this other guy?"

"Oh, he is my friend," Soos replied. "I've met him while working at the fair. He amazed me with a trick, I didn't even know. He destroyed my mind."

"Oh, and I met him too. He came to the shop to buy something for a girl, and helped me solve a troubling equation. He's got to be a pretty smart guy, so we called him in."

"And where was I, when all this happened?"

"Trying to figure out what sweater you should wear for the evening," Dipper answered simply.

Now, I was dying to meet this guy. But now, back to the adventure. First off, we played the game for a little while. Trying to find the needle in the haystack and "beat" the others to any sort of objective. This was, according to Dipper, only to find out if they had any cameras on the premises, but I think he only wanted to test his problem solving skills. A few riddles here, a few there, and he was happier than me when Christmas comes. But he quickly got bored of the simplicity of the puzzles and, with a serious face, he commanded us, his crew, to break from the crowd, who were mindlessly seeking the little "relics".

"Where to?" Soos asked.

"This revered inventor hid his inventions in a sort of concealed room in his main bedroom, according to this journal entry, so we're going there."

We climbed up the old, creaking stairs slowly, not because we were lazy, but because they were many. We were tired, breathing heavily, but we needed to keep going. A big oak door with custom-made handles (they were small triangles, with a circle inside them, resembling an eye) marked our destination, on the map.

"Where's…" I got interrupted by Dipper who had guessed what I was going to ask.

"Probably inside, looking for the entrance."

What we didn't know at the time is that the door was cleverly soundproofed. And that that area was off limits, but who was there to stop us? A little break from the law didn't hurt. Why did I mention the soundproof part? Because when we entered the room, it was ravaged by a big rocky thing, who was unleashed by God knows what. Dipper called it a golem, his head and torso glowing with a strange bluish glow. It had a weird marking on its forehead, a broken circle, with a small dot in the middle. The little dot was connected to its torso with a small smooth line, which transformed in a spiral. I find it funny that as this immense rocky monster was destroying and smashing everything in his sight, I could only admire its magnificent design and pattern, fact remarked by my brother…

"Are you ok, Mabel? Can you stop staring at this monster and help us?"

"Yeah, right! What should I do?"

"I've got a plan, but I need a distraction… Can you provide any?"

"Sure, I can," Soos answered promptly. "Hey, monster," he said throwing a small stool at him. "Check this out!" He pulled out two glow sticks and started flailing them around in what I could only see as a dance. It was so funny, but it was also very effective, as the golem started slowly, but surely walking towards him. As the monster's steps grew closer to him, his moves became a lot more panicky, until…

"Dipper, if you've got a plan, you'd better do it quick!" he screamed, buckets of sweat dripping on his face.

"Hang in there, Soos," Dipper encouraged him as he pulled a rope, through a small pulley on the ceiling. I didn't know what to do. I was pretty much a spectator, and I couldn't say I didn't enjoy it. Although the situation seemed serious enough, lethal actually, I couldn't find anything to help with. However, I swiftly found my answer… We should've had a fourth member join us in this room. I could find him and take care of him, because I don't think he is in tip-top shape considering the condition in which we found this room. I didn't know where to start looking. It was all just an immense mess, the bed being torn to shreds, the closets smashed on the floor, creating a pile of rubble that could hide 5 let alone 1 person. The big hole in the wall behind what appeared to be a small sink, revealed another room that should not complicate my war medic job. However, it did. It was ravaged in the same way as the previous chamber, leaving more places for me to look for him. It's a good thing that a series of unidentified sounds, seemingly groans, guided me to a body of a half unconscious boy. Which, I've already been acquainted too. It was Tobias, breathing heavily, wounded on almost every inch of his body. I think that one of his legs was broken, not being supposed to bend like that. Suddenly, from the other room, I heard a loud thud, and a strange screech following it right away.

"Phew, thank God," Soos yelled from the other room. I could only assume they've killed the golem.

"Mabel, you ok there?" Dipper followed.

"No, I found our companion! He is very hurt and needs help now!" I shouted trying to make them hurry up. They came as fast as possible, but Dipper was frozen when he saw the state in which Tobias was… Soos was affected too, but he didn't let it out, as always.

"What do we have to do?" I asked before seeing…that wretched note…

"This revered inventor has created a machine that allows wounded tissues to regenerate in mere seconds using biotic technology and a bit of magic. Find it, and your friend will be healed, as if he never got hurt in the first place. The clock is ticking…"

I could feel the laughter behind this message.

"So how do we find this?"

"Easily," Dipper exclaimed with the face of a revered inventor. "That golem must've been a sentinel, devised to halt any intruders who would've found his secret stash. Therefore, we must only look after a piece that doesn't quite fit in with the others. Such as… aha! This tube of…expired toothpaste."

We have tried for some time to inspect almost every destroyed corner of the ravaged room, but to no avail. Everything out of place was surely the result of the monster's rampage, so any clue left behind by poor Tobias was erased without a trace. Now, we could only watch as he was slowly fading away and his breath became fainter and fainter. I laid down next to him, trying to comfort him in his fewer moments of life. I only knew him for a day (albeit lived about twenty times), but I couldn't help but feel sad about the strange way I came to meet him and to let him go… He was trying to make me smile, when he gave me Waddles, the cutest thing I could imagine right now, but now I could only sit helplessly as his light began to flicker.

"Mabel, you're not helping staying near him…"

I didn't hear that so, I kept weeping, but Dipper had to get his message across.

"Mabel, listen to me!" He shook me hard to grab my attention, and he succeeded as I went from sad to angry at him, for jumbling up my brain. "You help him, much more if you come and look with us, than if you just sit here and cry at his soon to be grave. So, get up, leave sweater town for now and search what we need right now, ok?"

Dipper was never the guy to give motivational speeches, but somehow he managed to get my spirits up, me being the person who can't get rid of depression once it settles in, although this happens very rarely. But now, I was hyped, knowing that I would do what I have to do or die trying (Unfortunate choice of words). I kept rummaging through piles and piles of rubble, wood and walls, but I couldn't find anything that would lead us to another room hidden by the king of treasure hunting… As I was trying to find a clue or a hint inside one of the books, I found yet another note…

"You are fools for trying to find something destroyed in a broken down room… Wouldn't something left completely unscathed be more of an odd occurrence rather than stacks of garbage?"

Wow. We were so stupid, trying to find a needle in a haystack when, what we had to do was concealed by plain sight. Now what was completely intact? I looked back at the corpse of the golem. Now, only a bunch of rocks stranded on the floor. They killed it by rolling a bookshelf over it. With the power of pulleys. Now this room, actually had a single thing completely untouched and that was a rather unexpected view. The floor underneath the golem's remains was looking as if it just got polished and replaced. It shone, and was as reflecting as a mirror. We found our last door. Treasure hunt complete. Underneath the floor tiles we quickly found a lever, which opened the hatch instantly. The familiar blue light accompanied us down the ladder we climbed down to reach the storage…

A large pedestal reigned over the room, bearing one strange looking contraption. It was surrounded by a bunch of empty display cases. It seemed as if they were taking in a hurry, as the windows were dirty and some of the glass was scratched showing an attempt to force them open… A final note was stuck on our prize.

"You found your thing faster than I thought. Using it is pretty easy. Just press that yellow button and target your little boyfriend's chest, as near as possible to the torso. He should be magically brought back to life." I couldn't stop my face from turning red when I read "boyfriend." Alas, the heart wants what the heart wants…

I am sorry for the way this page was written. I know I stumbled a lot, I couldn't focus on something, I may have even made some meaningless sentences… But now, looking back, I understand how shook up I must've been. It was truly a horrifying stage and we, the puppets kept playing on a minefield. Even now, I can't put two ideas together. I am sorry, future me, but I just can't leave you with a memento, even with the help of Dipper, who kindly helped me borrowing me his rich vocabulary. Try not forgetting this any time soon…


	6. In another world

A few details have been omitted in the last page that I would love to include now that I am better than I was when I wrote that. Now Tobias is fine, thanks to surprisingly our now antihero, Note-Guy as we will reference him from now on (my vocabulary is enrichened by the fact that I can now ask two literary experts so to speak to aid me in my writings). I may have wrongly say that the sole invention still in the storage room was that heal gun which allowed our new friend to live, there was something else. A little watch, with strange marking etched onto it, and a stranger dial. It didn't seem like you used that device to measure time, but rather to do something else. It was nothing to worry about, though. Another detail I might have overlooked was the conclusion of our uneasy adventure. You know, it's annoying to speak in such manner, with so many words that I don't know. Maybe I will mix it up a little, a bit of high-end talk, then a bit of casual banter. It should feel like you're speaking to one mildly silly, yet highly intelligent person at once. Now, back to the story. After we found our Holy Grail of modern medicine, and activated it on the spot to deny the actions of a certain sentinel, Soos carried the unconscious boy back to the Shack. It was surprising that no one noticed us, but who am I to judge. We laid him in my bed, surrounded him with fluffy objects (among them all my stuffed animals) and then waited. Since it was late evening already, we thought that he would sleep through the night and wake up with us in the morning, so all of us went to sleep (Soos even went home) only to find the bed empty when we got up. Obviously, we were scared that he might have been left to wander off into the night, light-headed, dizzy and get hit by a car, or a moose, or a moose driving a car, or an old man with a pet moose, but our worries were dissolved soon as we found a note, thankfully not from our "friend".

"Thank you for all your help. I must've underestimated that golem's power. What I am going to guess happened is you defeated the sentinel, found the hidden stash and nursed me back to health with that amazing invention. Now, I want to repay you all by showing you something amazing. There should've been a watch down there too. If you did, then I can show you what it actually stands for. It should be documented in your journal, but I am not sure. Either way, if you found it, I would be glad to amaze you, else… I will think of something." And a little smiley face at the end. How cute.

This was what I omitted, so now I will start from the beginning. We were asking each other, how would we find him in order to get our so-called "reward", but we didn't have to find out. We found Tobias, entering the store at about 10 AM in the morning. The meaning of this is nothing. I just love details.

"Tobias!" we both yelled.

"Ok, this has gone a bit too far, call me Toby," he laughed a bit embarrassed.

"Now, do we go straight to business, or…" Dipper was very anxious to find out what the watch does, but I was hoping I would find the alternative first, because I could swear that that timepiece will curse us, or transform us into skunks or make us change bodies…So, without further ado, I grabbed Dipper to the side and told him my thoughts.

"Mabel, you're boring. And it's me telling you this, the kid who passed going to the museum on a field trip to do classes. Alone. Without the teacher."

"You've made your point, but I'm just…saying that maybe we should explore the possibilities, before…jumping to conclusions…" His unconfident glare made me flinch, though. "Okay, you got me! I've got a crush on him, happy?"

"Oh…bummer." He nervously scratched the back of his head. "Now I feel like a huge jerk." A long pause followed, during which Dipper tried to speak multiple times, without actually getting a word through. Until…

"So is he Wendy-ing you?"

"He's what?" Although, right after I said that, I realized what he meant.

"You know, keeping you at arm's reach? Close, but not that close?"

"No, nothing like that…Actually, we haven't spent much time together apart from one moment…"

"You've never told me of anything like this…"

"I did…umm…in another form. I referred to it as the best moment of my life…I guilt tripped you into going back in time for it."

"Ah…" he sighed with slight disappointment and anger, but then a sincere smile followed, as if he was trying to tell me:" I would've done the same thing."

"Yes, you get it now?"

"Mhm, now look how's it going to be. I will say we don't have the timepiece and we will see what the alternative is. If it's something good for you, I will go for it, else we go for the watch theory ok?"

"Perfect…" I said, hugging him understandingly. We went back to the store, where Toby was now inspecting a small crystal globe with a yeti in it. Lying we didn't have a watch, we found out what small little thing he wanted to show us… In an instant we both yelled: "We found the watch." Who in his righteous mind goes stargazing anymore? Bo-ring.

"Okay, then, you found the watch. Meet me in the woods in an hour. It's best we are as far away from civilization as possible."

That was odd. Why would we go far inside the woods just to test-drive a watch… We had no hint of what we were going to do, but we didn't need to. If a revered inventor such as our former manor owner created a device that is able to heal wounds in mere seconds, what do you think it can do with a watch? Exactly. Mind blowing stuff. As the minutes passed by, I tried figuring out a strategy to approach my newly found boy, but obviously, since I am a very good Mabel, I couldn't think of anything, and just as I was sure I designed the perfect plan (I should probably stop hanging out so much with Dipper…) the time was up. We met in an unusual place inside the forest (strange we could've even found each other, I mean "meet me in the woods" is pretty vague), right in what seemed like an enormous footprint of a Sasquatch. By enormous, I don't mean 3 feet, but 30 feet long. Now back to our pressing business.

"So…what does this amazing device do?" Dipper broke the ice, by asking the first event related thing, in our conversation.

"You want the long, quantum physics story or the shorter, easier to understand story?"

"Quantum physics!"

"Shorter!" This is me trying to recreate the fact that we both yelled our answers instantly.

"Ok, both ways. So, it's an error from my part to assume it's about quantum physics, although it is true to some extent. Now, let me tell you that you have made a multitude of choices in your life that have led to us staying here, right now. But, since you have never ventured off the path you have taken now, those other roads remain unscathed. Trying to count them is impossible so, we assume their limit is infinite. This is only for us. Now count this for the around 15 billion people who have lived throughout the ages, and account for every single organism that has done that and we reach a number resembling infinity times infinity, which is obviously…a lot. The theory states that there are alternate universes for every single possibility, not already existing in our universe."

"This is the scientific way of putting it? With numbers and stuff?"

"Yes, now the shorter easier to understand. It relies on examples. You ate pancakes this morning?"

"Yup, with maple syrup and an ounce of butter."

"Good. Now imagine an universe in which you didn't eat pancakes today, you ate…scrambled eggs. This is what we can call the breaking point, because since that point our universes were identical correct?"

"Correct!" I screamed, excited that I could finally understand science.

"Now, since you hadn't eaten pancakes, you didn't feel a surge of joy, you wouldn't have been in the shop today, you wouldn't have gotten the wish to come now and be shown this watch's purpose and the list goes on. Is it all clear now?"

"Crystal. Now, this watch has this foreshadowed power?" Dipper asked, trying to find out faster about the watch's true purpose.

"Precisely. Now should we explore our infinite possibilities, or we're going to keep bickering?"

"Wait! Before we go, does this thing have some sort of a tracking device, or do we just randomly blink through multiverses?"

"Well. The thing is we can't choose one universe and teleport there, but the watch has a function to remember the matrix from which we set off. Therefore we can continue going forward, without ever knowing where, or we can come back where we started."

"How do you make something like that?" Dipper asked, while I was trying my best to hide my confusion.

"It's like in programming. Only now we only have room for one variable. Rather than putting our last universe there, and forever losing the address of home, he chose to put the starting point there."

I was growing more anxious as time flew by. As they were science-babbling their way to a very nerdy friendship I thought that maybe, taking matters in our own hands was the answer and the cure for my boredom. Therefore…

"Enough talk, let's go!" I said grabbing the watch.

As both of them yelled "No!" a flash of light engulfed me, while I felt lighter and lighter. My eyes closed shut, and my skin felt tingly, as I seemed to be flying through the air. However, in an instant this amazing sensation stopped, and I opened my eyes to see myself in the same place, but no Toby and no Dipper to be sighted. I still had the small device in my hand, but at the time, I didn't realize what happened. I should've said that I woke up on the ground, dizzy. I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I chose to go back to the Shack and complain to my two important boys, that they left me alone in the woods...

I saw Dipper reading from his usual journal, bearing the poignant 1 marking on its cover. He was so concentrated, that he didn't even hear me enter the room, so my "Hey, Dipper!" made him jump out of his armchair and fall on the floor.

"Woah, you scared the goo out of me!"

"What?" I was all like…goo?

"I was in the middle of reading an entry about some sort of gelatin-based lifeform which decomposed and assimilated a large part of the well-known forest. That's why."

"Ooooh," I gasped realizing that I didn't need to know.

"Anyway, are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"Ugh," Dipper smacked his forehead. "I've told you a million times that today we're going to the picnic area. You know, that place where we can admire the big statue from that diner?"

"Umm… what for?"

"For…the dates?"

"Oh, sweet! Can't wait then!" I said, while rushing upstairs to get ready. I returned swiftly, wearing my lucky kitten sweater and my shiny sneakers. Then we swiftly proceeded up the hill the Northwest Manor was situated upon. Thinking about the whole situation, I just realized that…woah so many things were wrong. First off, who is Dipper dating? Second off, how come we are allowed on the estates of the Northwest mansion? Last off, where were we going now?

"Hey Dipper, not like I forgot or anything, but who are you dating again?"

"Oomph… Let me remind you every single detail of this evening. We will go to the picnic and then watch a movie on the big screen that a lot of Pacifica's butlers will project on. I am dating Wendy, the girl who works with us, Pacifica is dating Toby and you are dating Gideon. Was it hard?"

In my mind I threw myself off the cliff the second I heard Pacifica is dating Toby, but now Gideon and I? No way. This isn't the real life. I must've fallen asleep for 3-5 years so that I had forgotten everything that happened and now it all came back to me in a nightmare. So, yes. I ran home screaming, digging myself in a pillow and trying to figure out how the heck did this happen. Only then, I saw the note on my nightstand…

"Remember the watch's function, Mabel? Do you recall what it does? Do you recall how to use it? I can't tell you, right now, but you can think of it this way. If you find out what is wrong with this place, you can start having flashbacks…"

Great. Thank you for nothing and everything as always. I can't seem to point out the obvious flaw in this place…It seems like a completely different timeline, in which… Timeline…Did I just go back in time, screwed up big time, then went back in my own time and forgot the original? It's possible. Now I only need to find this time machine I used, go back in time and then everything should return to normal, right? As I was deep in my thoughts, Dipper came in with a look of anger mixed with sadness and anguish…

"What the heck were you thinking leaving like that all of a sudden? Do you have any idea how you made poor Gideon feel? Tell me do you?"

"Look, Dipper…I don't know what I did in the past few… whatever, but I don't recall anything about hooking up with Gideon. I don't remember Toby and Pacifica hitting it off, but that's something else, and I definitely don't know how you got with Wendy. Either way, something is screwed up badly and I want you to tell me what."

"There's nothing wrong what are you speaking of?"

"Okay, then please tell me what happened the last couple of weeks?"

"Well, nothing much actually. You remember the time machine rigmarole?"

"No…" I answered, lying obviously.

"Well, we found a tape measurer which doubled as a time machine and I managed to fix my mistake of continuously missing a shot at the fair, and this was the start of my relationship with Wendy. At the same fair, Pacifica met Tobias and hooked up with him and you and Gideon hit it off before at the party, where you were almost to make a lifelong enemy, but eventually avoided the situation, and you and Pacifica became best friends… However, you attracted the hate of two weird looking girls, whose name I think were Candy and Grenda…but I am not sure."

OK, this was not another timeline, it was a completely different world… left was right, up was down, and apparently everything was as it shouldn't be… Wait…Another world…Oh, fudge I just realized what is wrong. This is a parallel universe and the watch brought me here! This is just residual memory waste, from back when Toby presented us its function and I was busy chasing butterflies. Now, unfortunately I had two problems… I didn't have it anymore, and even if I had it I had no idea how the heck can I operate such machinery… So I was stuck in this place until I could figure out a way to escape… Now let's see what this world has different. The breaking point is obviously our entire time machine paradox thingy, although it may also be the party… But something didn't make sense. Every universe shouldn't have the same characters in it? So, then where was this universe's Mabel…

"Dipper… odd question again, but do you have any idea where did I go in the past 24 hours?"

"Come to think of it, you should've been to investigate some sort of anomaly in the woods. Didn't you come back from there anyway?"

Oh, Dipper, do you realize how stupid you just sounded right now. Apparently in this alternate world I am some sort of Dipper, myself, a force of good, seeking knowledge. So, I research this kind of things, now, but what does my brother do? He was reading the journal when I came in, so what is his business now? He seems pretty unchanged after all, but we have switched roles… Wait, what am I saying, am I silly? We mustn't be all reversed, we can be selectively inverse. But now, another issue came to me. Where am I? The other me… And… just as I was asking myself this, the other me just burst through the door, her hair covered in flames. She quickly dropped to the floor and rolled around until, the fire was extinguished and she got back to her feet as if nothing had happened. I don't know if this is insanity, cold bloodedness or just what I would normally do. Be that as it may, I quickly noticed myself and we both found ourselves screaming:

"Who are you?!"

Surprise, put aside, I found myself shocked by a little gizmo then I guess I was knocked out, because I woke up tied to a chair in an improvised interrogation room, with a small table lamp shining bright in my face and a mirror image of myself, wearing an eye-patch to seem more threatening and a suit wearing shoulder pads to appear official. But deep down we both knew it wasn't working and that we can't look tough, with our sweet, gullible faces, that can't help but be loved.

"Let's cut to the chase," the other me said. "Who are you and what in the heck are you doing here?"

"Ok, I am you, but from another universe, I came using a small device, that transports me through parallel worlds, I can't find it now and even if I did, I wouldn't know how to operate it," I said without breathing once. Mabel-2 (as I am going to be referring to her from now on) wasn't impressed.

"Oh, come on, it's not like I am some sort of shapeshifting troll…"

"Shapeshifting troll!" she said at the same time as me.

"Exactly, see we even think the same, what proof do you need?"

"That's exactly what a shapeshifting troll would say."

"Ok, so now let me prove you wrong, maybe… I don't know what the breaking point in our universes is, but hopefully we had the same childhood… You and Dipper dress up each Halloween together in various outfits and this time, you were planning on going as PB&J. You teased him for ages for that lamb suit he wore when he was about 4 years old. You like to knit, obviously, but what no one else knows is that you secretly create a story on the inside of every sweater you write a small motivational quote, for when you retreat in your little town, you can try frantically to feel better. Please tell me at least some of this makes sense."

"Ok," Mabel-2 said with a straight face. "You're me alright, but this doesn't confirm your story."

"You're just trying to sound tough now?"

A smile appeared on her face.

"Yes," she started laughing. The alternate twins proceeded to untie me and then to stare at me as if I was some sort of alien, which I technically was. I didn't know what to do, especially that I think I kinda ruined the things around here. Now, I could only think of getting back home, which wasn't an option…unless. Universes share things right? They have the same objects within them…therefore they should have a watch too right?

"Hey, quick question guys…Do you by any chance have a certain device which can allow interdimensional travel?"

"We should've found one in the manor we raided last week, but there was none. We found a heal gun and a small pistol which acts as a portal creator. Nothing to help you get back home, though," Dipper-2 said.

Bummer, now what am I supposed to do? At least I can hang out with these guys until someone rescues me. Someone will rescue me, right? As I was thinking that, a note fell from the ceiling, sticking to my hand.

"Yes, they will, but unfortunately it may take a while. Unless you find your device, you won't be able to go back without your part. Don't ask why, but it's just the way things are. Find your little watch and you will return back to the world you came from, instantly."

"What's that?" Mabel-2 asked, seeing me reading the little message.

"You don't have a Note-Guy?"

"A what?"

"An unknown being that sends you, in particular notes about the future and tells you what to do, in order for things to turn out for the better?"

"Not quite… We had some sort of person who always left a small clue for us to find in order to solve any problem, but it suddenly stopped when we all got significant others. Maybe it's for the best, I mean it made us feel we lost our free will and that we were only pawns in a large scale chess game."

"Oh…Anyway, he said that I need to find my device so I could go back to my home world. It's a small watch, glowing with a dim blue light, hard to miss in the dark and light alike."

"Ok, it's night time already, so we'll organize a search party tomorrow. In the meantime you can stay with us," my 2nd self said to me.

"But, you must leave as soon as possible, because we already have too much Mabel in our universe…"

"Oh, Dipper, you…" I laughed.

"I am serious. Excessive matter can lead to immense destabilization. Chronal dissonance, dimensional ruptures, gaps in the timeline… Do we really take these risks?" our brother chimed in, scared.

Mabel-2 and I looked at each other with a smirk and we both nodded in agreement.

"You're worrying for nothing, Dipper" we scolded him, smiling.

In the meantime what could I actually do? Nothing else but go to sleep. Since they didn't have any extra room in their beds, they laid down a nice and cozy sleeping bag on the floor in the attic. It was pretty spooky to sleep there… Cobwebs, strange noises, especially creaks, the sound of tiny mouse paws thumping on the wooden tiles. It was all in all uneasy and pretty hard to catch any sleep up there. I decided to just go up on the roof, in my night gown and just stare at the town below me. Although it was chilly, I somehow felt warm, as if someone looked after me, but in the end it was just my mind playing tricks on me…

Gravity Falls looked the same as before. Flickering lampposts, deserted streets with only tumbleweeds missing, abandoned, haunted shops. On one side the impetuous Northwest mansion, on the North-Western hill, obviously and on the other side the revered inventor's manor, the South-Eastern hill. The living area was enclosed by two immense, uncrushable borders, sheltered from any attacks, guarded by the fury of both man and nature. It's an amazing view to see small houses in the place where lightning shattered the earth and our small town just blossomed in the little crevasse. It was… stunning, to imagine its raw beauty. But, alas it was only a…

"Boo!" Mabel-2 tried to scare me by jumping from the mansard's window to the roof. I recoiled violently, almost falling off, but I regained my balance… Needless to say that I hadn't the friendliest reaction to this.

"You almost killed me!"

"Ok, ok, I am sorry. Whatcha' doing?"

"Just taking in the view? You never do that?"

"Sometimes… when matters of the mind or heart fall heavy upon me. I find it relaxing to just bask in the simple beauty of nature and man-made buildings alike."

"Wow," I uttered, mind blown by the profoundness of what she just said. "You're a deep thinker, aren't you?"

"It's educated. I don't know how it is in your world, but here I am a straight A student with an aspiring career in philosophy lying ahead of me…"

"You know, who you seem to be?"

"A version of you and Dipper combined?"

"With a hint of…what's the word…?"

"Profoundness?"

"Exactly. You know, the more I think of it, the more it seems you're the better Mabel…"

"I may be in reference to you. You view yourself as inferior to an otherworldly being, but I assure you, our differences consist solid proof for your superiority. For example, you can have a better boyfriend back home, right?"

"Negative there… I have a crush on my dimension's Toby and I didn't even spend an hour together. Without the time travel shenanigans, that is."

"Ok… You must be a better knitter than I am. How many sweaters?"

"202, so far, you?"

"Umm… 425… No, no, don't pout," she said hastily trying to prevent me from being sad. "You must have something at which you're better than me…"

"How about failing? I seem to be doing pretty good in that subject…"

"Aww, come on don't be down…" she said hugging me tight. "I am sure there is something you are best at, regardless of whether or not I can find it. Now… to a more serious topic."

"What's that…No," I answered to her obvious smirk.

"Come on…" her voice drifted. "Tell me why, although, now that I realize, I am speaking to myself about the pros I found in another guy, while I am in a relationship."

"See that's proxy cheating or something like that, it's not wise to talk about it."

"Jamming computer related words in front of a regular one, doesn't make it smarter or a better argument. Now you have exactly 5 minutes before the sun rises to tell me all about him, or I will go back to your world and do it myself."

"You're bluffing…"

"Perhaps, but can you afford to take that chance?"

"Yeah, I kinda do… I mean, it's not like it's a life or death situation. It's more of a thing that if happens than ok, if not then it's again ok. So, you can't really force me…"

Mabel-2 looked pretty sad as a response to my lack of response. I was very strict when speaking of my feelings, but very open to those of others. After a brief moment of silence she had spoken again.

"You know, I was this shy too, but I found that being expressive with your sentiments can actually help, believe it or not. It eases up the emotional stress and can lead to a solution, rather than discomfort."

She made a solid point, but now do I stay stubborn, or do I listen to her and do the rational thing…Fine, mind, I succumb to your ways of reasoning. This is also going to be the last line of this entry.

"You wanna know why I like him?"

"Yes."

"It's because he gave me Waddles. It's because when I was sad he came to me to be comforting. He is nice, smart, good looking and reminds me of the perfect guy I had dreamed of. We saved him and he returned the favor by asking us if we had this blasted watch that got me here. I should've picked stargazing over this, because now it seems the better idea…I just wanted to feel loved and looked after and now I feel isolated in a world that is warm, but alien to me. I can't find a thing right with my life and I just found out that in an universe where I found myself to be rather superior, I am actually inferior to my true self. You have lowered your standards so much, to have your relationship, and yet you are happy, elated should I say. You are better than me in every way and just thinking that I have failed where you succeeded is making me nuts. You are so kind, so marvelous in every way, and I just…can't stand it. I always thought I made things perfect, but… I found that there are better versions of myself…"


	7. Returning Thoughts

Okay, so first of all, this is me, the author speaking (it might be hard to differentiate that, without this sentence, because of the perspective I've chosen). I am sorry for the 3 month-long hiatus, I am not sure you want to hear the reason why, so I am just going to summarize it in three words: education is hard. I will try my best to finish this story, though, because it now has my full attention. As always, enjoy!

Now that I have thoroughly relived my amazing experience and that I had stopped crying, I will briefly write the conclusion of what happened in that parallel universe. Basically, after spitting out my heart on the table to the other me, I fell asleep and woke up to the sun crawling through the cracks of the attic. After an unusually normal morning routine, we had organized the amazing search party we had planned yesterday. It was well…easier than I thought. And by that, I mean finding the watch, because the road was unbearable… It was the most uncomfortable experience of my life, given that I was the seventh wheel to a perfectly balanced bus (some have like six wheels, right?). It was painful to see the reflection of Toby sitting with Pacifica …it just made my skin crawl, seeing my 'nemesis' with my crush. On top of that, I had to witness the disgusting relationship that teeny tiny parallel myself had with that conniving and sly Gideon. The redeeming part was seeing Dipper smile, as he finally got what he wanted in so long. That really warmed my heart, although it was a cool breeze in a raging hurricane of anguish and dismay. Blessed was the briefness of this trip. We found the watch in the close proximity of the place in the woods I 'spawned' at. The second Dipper lifted it, triumphantly, I grabbed it and, out of sheer force of luck, I apparently pressed the best button.

At that moment, I didn't know what I was thinking. I couldn't stand staying in this world anymore… a place where all I could do was compare myself to the better alternatives of the universe. I found out that I am not the best I could be...And that had to change. My other self had given me advice I should promptly follow…Maybe for the first time I will listen to it, provided it's coming from, well, me. As I was experiencing the same tingling feeling as before, my mind getting separated from my body, travelling through space-time as if I was on a school-trip, I let my thought wander and, boy, was that wrong of me.

Two main reasons why. First off, I pondered over Gideon. And not in the way you'd think. But rather, from a rather objective perspective, with its 'for' reasons and its 'against' reasons. Since, a part of me, albeit alternate version, had found it in her heart to return the advances of that 'wittle' dude, it must be that she had seen something, that I couldn't bring myself to notice. Perhaps she had gotten past that curtain of desperation and, behind it, there maybe lied a sweet interior, as sweet as his fluffy exterior. Second off, I believe I might have misjudged Pacifica, a bit…Although, I had no interaction with her, she seemed like she was a completely different person. Granted, it could've been just because of her…actually being a completely different person. But still, Toby seemed pretty much the same guy as always. Therefore if he had seen something in her, that I overlooked, I must really reevaluate my opinions on certain people…

I woke up, figuratively speaking, in the middle of the forest…I remember it being the crack of dawn, when I left that utopian place, but here it was the middle of the night here…Despite my trip taking about a couple of seconds, I seemed to have skipped half a day. There was a tent in the clearing, a dim light, probably coming from a gas lamp, leaving through the poorly closed door. Curios, I had gotten close to it, only to hear the formerly asthma-riddled breath of my brother. The second he heard the zipper moving, he let out a surprised girly yell, to which I responded with a genuine laughter.

"Mabel?" he asked surprised and scared at the same time.

"No, it's an alien who was sent here as Mabel, to eat your brains," I said, while doing my best impression of an extraterrestrial (I just love having these two dudes telling me words, I never heard of before). I just wanted to be funny, but Dipper was strangely serious. He didn't say anything, he just went up to me and hugged me tight, wordless. I didn't know what to do. It was rare that he did things like this, so I had no reaction in store for that…

After the moment was consumed he had gotten to explaining what happened while I was gone.

"You know how long you've been gone?"

"I don't know… a day or something?"

"Today it would be a week."

"Wait…what?"

"Yeah. It's something that has to do with time dilatation and the fact that breaking the fabric of space-time is a pretty messy concept that leaves many completely baffled by it. Bottom line, the time you think you have spent wherever you went is not the same as the time that passed here. Toby can explain more, when he'll come to tag me out."

"Tag me out? What does that even mean?" I asked surprised.

"Well, he said that you might return anytime from the moment you left, but we wouldn't know if you were going to be injured, hungry, frostbitten and so on. We set up a small camp here, so we would be ready in the event you would return. As you see we've got pretty much everything you could need, from food to gauze."

"You still didn't answer…"

"Oh, right. Even though, we tried to use calculus to estimate when you will return, but it was pretty useless. Since you could come back in the middle of the night, we established a strict schedule of shifts. It's ten o'clock and Toby's shift is beginning now. He should be coming in any minute now. Probably, we'll just head for the Shack and sleep in, so that tomorrow we can strike this tent."

Well that was really nice of them, but this left me with a question, burning in my throat.

"Wait, didn't anyone notice that I was gone? Like, Grunkle Stan was completely ok with that?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Strangely enough, everyone just didn't seem to care that you were gone. Stan asked a couple of times, if we weren't two the last time he checked, but then just went about his business. Soos and Wendy haven't shown up at work for this whole time, for reasons I have yet to discover and Candy and Grenda didn't stop by at all. The only one that came and asked about you was Pacifica, who for some reason showed up at our doorstep asking for my help. Something about a ghost or something, threatening to destroy a party of hers. I politely refused, but Toby has accepted gladly, so I decided I could tag along, maybe grab some more of that intelligence."

"You just lost me, completely, but I get the overall concept…" I replied a bit dismayed. Well, it's amazing that no one has missed me for an entire week. The people you call friends seemed to me at that time to be the ones that never cared about you. But my extremely skewed opinion was going to be blown to shreds by the…extremely familiar note hanging behind on the center pole of the tent. And of course, what else could it say, apart from:

"I told them all, to stay away. That way they won't miss you. Think, think, and then think more…"

"Was this here before?" Dipper asked, as he saw me picking up the little yellow post-it.

"I haven't noticed it, so probably not."

"We need to talk to Toby about these notes, maybe he can tell us more about this."

"I don't think so…He seems more of a science guy, rather than messing with this supernatural magic stuff, so probably he'll laugh at us, for believing in things like this."

"Worth a shot, though. I've looked for this mysterious persona in the journal, but I found nothing at all. This dude is really elusive, but I feel he may not be who we think he is…"

Since Toby was starting to take his sweet time to appear, Dipper and I decided to set course for the Shack, while leaving behind a note (yes, an actual note), saying where we are, and that I was safely back to my native timeline. I've got to say…I've yet to see the forest in the way I saw it that night.

The moon was covered by a curtain of branches and leaves, her light overflowing through the dense crown of the trees, sinking the grass beneath in a silver glow. Stars were shyly spreading their dim rays over the clear, cloudless night sky, basking the earth in their eternal shine. Passing through the clearings, I could see how pale the veritable Queen of the Night was. Dead in her way, nothing but a reminder of the cycle of life and death…The day is a symbol of vividness, whereas the darkness of night is nothing but sorrow. However, be it as anguished as it is, there is nothing but raw purity exulting from this liberating atmosphere. I've never walked out in the wild at night, before…I didn't think it would be so…strange. On the one hand it's the fear of the unknown of the savage beasts lurking in the shadows, ready to maul you, on the other hand there is this euphoria of freedom, seeing the naked nature as it was intended to be. Concealed and away from all the filth of humankind…

It's obvious, though that I didn't write these words. I found it so hard to express the way I felt, but I knew I had to do it. So, what better place to go do some research, than the local library? I found a book about romanticism, some sort of literary current from the eighteenth century, and it was a pretty nice time, judging by the poetry we have from then. I just let other authors do the work for me. I just edited it so it would all seem nicely put.

The Shack was as I left it, the same fallen letters, the same rugged rood, the same broken down windows and walls, the same flickering light on the front porch with the same rocking chair gently swinging back and forth, screaming for its wooden bowels to be varnished. It reeked of old age, and it reminded me more of the residence of a hippie college student, from the corniest movies. However it did have that retirement home scent, that wonderful aroma the house of elderly people usually smell of. I don't know why I am being so descriptive all of a sudden. It might be because this interdimensional trip has really made me contemplate on so many aspects of my life. I decided to look more in the essence of things. However, I apparently focus on finding the soul of inanimate objects and places, rather than people, which is pretty much, what I should do.

I was tired and couldn't see anything else inside, other than the path to our bedroom and the bed I dug my face in without even bothering to change into my jammies. I could feel Dipper looking at me with his usual confused glare, but I couldn't care less. Come to think of it, I didn't know why I was so tired. After all, I had just woken up when I left the other world, and it was the middle of the night when I arrived, and this happened only in the span of a couple of seconds. It was strange, but I couldn't care less at that moment, and I can't say that I care about it now. Either way, I woke up on the ground. Apparently I move a lot in my sleep, so unless I am carefully tucked in and have Waddles by my side to act as a barrier, I will fall and not even be fazed by it.

After having my second breakfast in about twelve hours, eating alone this time, though, I proceeded to go inside the store only to find a view I was extremely scared of finding back here. It was again Toby and Pacifica, laughing, having a good time. I was about to pass through the door beads, but I stopped midway, using them as a shield, of both physical and mental nature. It felt strange, to eavesdrop on their conversation, but on the other hand…. I don't know why I did it. However, there wasn't much to it.

"So you're coming tonight at the party, right?" Pacifica asked, closing in on him.

"Yeah, of course I will. I promised you I'd get rid of that wretched ghost, didn't I?" Toby answered her, looking in her eyes, smiling. I couldn't watch anymore, but unfortunately my ears didn't lose functionality.

"You're only coming for that?" she replied a bit disappointed in his frankness.

"Of course not! I always loved the architecture of your mansions. The Northwests surely knew a thing or two about internal decorations. Plus, I've always been fascinated by your vast library. I remember how I lost myself in it, when you first invited me to your place…"

"Yeah, yeah…You had a bizarre fascination for books, despite having learnt to read only a couple of weeks prior."

"And, we can both see where my passion has taken me, right?"

"Mhm…" Pacifica sounded really depressed. I was somewhat happy for that, but at the same time, I was disgusted at myself for rejoicing (how useful is to have a dictionary near you) in her sadness.

"Yep. I am the same nerdy kid, I was five years ago, and you are the same pretty little purple princess you always were. I'm glad to see you didn't change at all."

"I'm glad you think that," she said audibly sad, while Toby seemed unfazed by that. "See ya at the party," she continued, the door slamming behind her. As Pacifica was leaving, she circled the house, and I could hear her sighing, saying:

"Well, at least he called me pretty."

I was now really beating myself up for that moment of weakness I had, when I took delight in her grief. She was pretty much locked in the same situation as me, but, unlike silly me, she was pretty outspoken about it. And Toby was pretty much oblivious to the situation, damning Pacifica to her helpless hope. I could relate to her so much, at that moment, while wondering, at the same time, why did we start on the wrong foot, at my party. Maybe, I should tag along too, although I may not be the most wanted person there. I was about to go back to my room, when I saw that annoying note, I got so used to, carelessly gliding as if it was thrown from the ceiling…

"Remember, your goal? You had to do something else, not return to your room and reflect. If you set your mind on anything, don't let a simple interference distract you from it."

God, I hate when he is right. It's true, I wanted to talk to Toby, but for some unknown reason, I was about to just run. My subconscious must love messing with me, especially because it knows that I won't be aware of it…Thankfully, I got this nagger continuously reminding me to never give up. Lately, Note-Guy has been getting very preachy. A little less obnoxious as well. Another thing to look out for. How great is it, that I keep this diary? Only now, I can find a better use other than it being my outlet. I walked through the door beads, and immediately started regretting it…I just went to war, with no preparation at all.

I almost sneaked up, behind the counter, waiting for him to notice me. Unsurprisingly, he was a bit…surprised as to how I blinked there, whereas I've been nowhere to be seen for the last…days.

"Mabel? When did you come back?" He wasn't worried, just curios.

"Last night. Didn't you get the memo we left you back at the tent?"

"No, I was pretty busy last night. I told Dipper if he could cover for my shift, and he said he was fine with it. Anyway, forget that, you ok? Have you been hurt?"

"Not really…"

"Good, good." An awkward pause followed. He seemed to try to tell me something, but stopped himself before the words escaped the prison of his mouth. I couldn't help either, because I was blocked by my almighty fear. Thankfully, it wasn't long until he decided to break the ice…again, that is.

"Listen…I don't know if Dipper told you, but tonight, I gotta go to Pacifica's party and keep an eye on the place. She fears it's being haunted, but she's a bit off. I wanted to ask you if you want to come."

"Why would I want to come?" I still wonder what possessed me to say that.

"Because, it is a party, a fancy one, mind you, it is in one of the best locations in this little town, and it could be a nice way for you to bury the hatchet with Pacifica, since it's her ball."

"Oh, right…Well, it sounds nice, thank you."

I left immediately, covering my face, as I couldn't believe what I heard. Of course, I was smiling, I mean it's not every day that your crush asks you out. My mind was flooded with ideas of what I could wear, what I should wear, how I'll 'behave', but however, I was more preoccupied by something else, ironically. I don't remember mentioning Pacifica to him, despite we've been in quite a few adventures, yet he still knew that we weren't on the friendliest of terms. Undermining my overbearing happiness, I managed to ask him with a straight face, right before leaving:

"By the way, how do you know I'm not really besties with Pacifica?"

My question scared him. That was more than bizarre to me, because it felt like nothing else than regular banter.

"Well…I…" he stuttered for the first time since I've known him. All this time he was this enthusiastic boy, with that glimmer in his eyes, but now with just one simple sentence, I ripped that from him.

"Umm, you see, me and Pacifica are…friends, yeah, friends," he said as if he just discovered the meaning of the word 'friends'. "When we meet up…she usually bad-mouths you…I figured that you two don't really care much for each other…Look, I've got to go, now. See ya tonight!"

And with that, he had done nothing but creep me out and make me start an interesting crusade against what I thought of him so far, and what I had gathered in the last ten minutes of seeing him interact with me and Pacifica. And somehow, this has just manifested now…about twenty minutes, before Dipper and Toby will take me to the Northwest mansion. It's funny how I just started writing this in the best moment, but I felt like I was going to blow, if I weren't going to write this down…

First of all, this cryptic behavior of his, that elusive answer, extremely forced and filled with fear left me a bit baffled. I don't know whether it was because he thought that I was going at something with that question or because he somehow…said something I shouldn't have heard, but it was bizarre nonetheless.

Secondly, I just realized what I found so special about this guy…He was passionate, nerdy, had this extreme fascination for technology and supernatural alike. He seemed proud, yet deep inside he was very insecure and he was completely oblivious to how girls work and feel. If I pile up all these traits there is a pattern I find strange…He is an upgraded version of Dipper. This might be why they get along so well…Am I broken for that?

Oh, look, while I was writing another note appeared, stuck to the pages of my amazing pink diary. Since, I can hear Dipper downstairs pacing madly, waiting for me to come down, I think I am going to end this entry by recreating this note…It was pretty long and specific…eerily specific, so I believe it's best that I put it here, since these warnings pretty much fade away, after I read them…

"You should not care about this Toby guy, so much. I told you before that he is not what he seems, but you didn't think I meant it. You'll see more of what this guy is capable of at the party you are now not so sure what to expect of. Also, remember your feelings towards Pacifica, and Dipper alike. You're going to need your mind to be at its 100% to get through this amazing night you are going to…"

And it just ends there…As cryptic and confusing as I was used to. Glad to see that at least one thing was left intact.


	8. Northwestern Nights

I am not sure how I feel today, but I am more than sure that last night has been pretty wild. Surely, I was a piece of wood for most of the party, but Dipper was a sweetheart and filled me in on every single detail of the party. He had it memorized like high school students are supposed to know those wretched math formulas by heart (that my two friends already had imprinted on their enormous brains). I've got to say, since it's morning, I've got Waddles by my side to keep me company and not get bored and Toby and Dipper are gone to find some sort of unknown beast( again…) I'll be extremely bored today and this is going to be my main occupation. Brace yourselves, people who will read this thingy (although you're surely gonna be a pretty small bunch). This is going to be a long ride.

The Northwest Mansion is, perhaps as previously stated, an enormous building, probably the biggest of them all, situated on the edge of a hill, that, along with the one where that creepy old inventor's manor was situated, formed two mountainous guardians to shelter the Falls from the wretched influence of the outside world. In the moonlight, Pacifica's family's house was engulfed in a mysterious aura. Lights were shining on the bottom floors, but upstairs it was all pitch black. You'd think some servants would wander around still, but they seemed to concentrate themselves inside the party area. The path the two of us had taken to the mansion made it seem bigger than the moon it covered.

The second we passed through the gate, we both felt an eerie influence. For the moment we classified it as the thought of us going inside the house of a snarky little lady, to attend her rich, snobbish party, all while doing her bidding and ensuring that it all goes according to plan. Helping your 'enemy' has never been more annoying and stranger, for that matter. From the main entrance to the actual building, we had to pass through an enormous garden. Although it was the middle of the summer, few of the hedges actually had any flowers in them. I know, I might be used to what we see on the TV, those luxurious palaces with equally luxurious floral decorations, both inside and outside, but it still seemed a bit off to me. Contrasting with the colorless shrubs, all around the grand door, which would lead us to the 'time of our lives', beautiful lilies were just now blooming, spilling their intoxicating smell in the tense atmosphere of the night. It felt like they were a natural way of assuring that whoever entered was going to be drenched in a bottle of natural cologne. I stopped by to pick one up.

"You shouldn't do that, Mabel…Remember we're guests here," Dipper scolded me.

"Pacifica's guests," I underlined, motivating my gesture.

"Huh. Fair enough, go ahead."

"Don't flowers usually go to sleep at night? You know, tucking their little heads back in?"

"Those are Casablanca lilies, they only bloom at night. They sure are a nice touch to this place. If the interior of a home is filled with broken shards, at least let the exterior exult with beauty."

I didn't understand the meaning of that word. I may know how to write words, I don't even know, but when it comes to actually grasping a concept, Dipper's points especially, miss their target. As we approached the mahogany door, we could hear that slow jazz music, paired with some sort of classical violin, perfectly complimenting the pompous cliché this party stood for. We used the massive 'NW' shaped ancient doorbell to ring the door. A loyal servant opened, but he immediately stepped aside, leaving us to face Pacifica, who was, strangely enough, surprised to see us there.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked in her usual condescending manner.

"You asked me to come, remember? Ghost-hunting and…" Pacifica covered his mouth before he could end his sentence.

"Keep it down! I also remember that the first time I came to your grandpa's shack, I was undercover."  
"I recall that. I don't see its relevance though."

"Then, let me clarify, Brainiac. First off, you were supposed to be here as a low profile guest, your mission being classified, as you nerds like to call your things. Second off, I believe that I've made myself pretty clear when I told you that your assistance is no longer needed, the other day."

"So…then," Dipper said, a smirk landing on his face," why did Toby call the two of us here?"

"WHAT?!" Pacifica yelled, but immediately covered her mouth, realizing what she had done. She was hardly managing to keep her anger inside and Toby appearing behind her, tapping her on the shoulder and asking: "Why are you shouting like that?" was only sure to take her past the tipping point.

Suddenly recollecting herself, she looked at him, a fake smile broad on her face and answered with another question.

"Why did you invite these two to my party?"

"Well, I need Dipper's expertise in such anomalies to help me out in case things get out of hand. As for Mabel, you said I could bring anyone. I chose her. Is there a problem?" He was completely innocent in this situation. Whereas you'd think that he was sarcastic or just trying to tease her, in fact the words leaving his mouth weren't said in a mean manner. However, her response was filled with fury, but Toby seemed to not really notice it. Come to think of it, he was pretty oblivious to everyone's reactions…not the best person to have as a lawyer.

"And you didn't bother to ask me if I'm ok with it?"

"Well, are you?"

He was so lovely clueless. It was adorable and…quite silly at the same time. And that's coming from me, the girl who wears sweaters in the summer with llamas on them. If that doesn't scream silliness, I don't know what does.

"Of course!" she said, with a pinch of sarcasm, but that was only for the fine ears. I, of course have mastered the art of detecting disingenuous attitudes, after living for almost thirteen years with my brother, who would point out every single one of my flaws with his sly remarks. "But I'd appreciate if you told me in advance…"

"Noted in the Northwest Notebook," Toby replied then left, signaling Dipper to follow him. I was going to step in, but Pacifica stopped me in my tracks. She looked at me, with what I could only interpret as the expression of raw hatred, and only mumbled:" Don't…" before bolting off to a nearby room.

I didn't really know what this whole situation was all about…Don't what? Don't come in? She left, so I believe there was a greenlight there. Don't enjoy the party? Don't worry, I wasn't going to, either way. It's a festival of nosey no-good people who are enjoying the wealth of their ancestors. I remember Dipper classifying her as the worst there is countless times, but this party was the understatement to that. I walked around different groups of people, who were so uptight and snobbish, I couldn't stand being ten feet from them. Especially because they were loud and obnoxious enough to make their high-pitched yet guttural voices heard causing the entire party to be a cacophony of different variations of the same tone.

"I told him, Peach was a multi-layered ship and my job, as CEO was to get the ship pointed down the right track!"

"Time to save for a new yacht…done!"

"I once paid my butler ten thousand dollars to take a bath for me, because I needed to finish my game."

"I can't stand how poor these people are. Their vests aren't even engraved…"(What is that even supposed to mean?)

It was unbelievable…I couldn't bear hearing those fancy makeshift accents and those extremely stuck up one-liners. I had to get away from this all. I had two choices, both of which seemed better than staying down here. First off, I could go and check up on my little bro and his amazing friend and find out their elusive activities. Unfortunately for me, this meant me wandering around this immense monolith of a building, searching every room for two people who weren't really the loud kind, as to make their presence felt. The second alternative was to just go to the nearest balcony and contemplate…I chose the latter, but as I was climbing the immense stairway, meant to be taken out from a cartoon castle, I heard Pacifica's voice echoing inside the grand hallway. She was speaking into a microphone, trying to pacify (see what I did there?) the insufferable bunch, whose roaring noise covered her voice. Seeing that she couldn't make herself understood, she whispered something to a servant, who then jolted past me, skipping stairs, rushing to an unknown location, while she cleared her throat. After she told the sound assistant to kick it up a notch, she yelled, the big window behind me shaking:

"Can everyone, please, be quiet!"

After the echo ceased and the guests (and I, for that matter) recovered from their shock, while their ears weren't ringing anymore, Pacifica, who was now triumphantly looking over the crowd, started speaking again, this time at a much more reasonable volume. I won't reproduce her words, but rather just say the essence of what she was saying. She greeted everyone and hoped that they were having a great time at the 10th annual Northwest Mansion Party. Since it was a decade since her family had decided to throw this ball, on the 1st of August, they had to make it special. At the moment, I didn't know what could be special for these extremely rich and bored people. However, it was something that, I, as a regular human being, who doesn't swim in a pool of golden coins in my spare time, found rather interesting and cute. However, I don't know how that idea got past her completely brainwashed parents...She had bought off a band of people, who looked as if they were literally bred from birth musicians, and she was going to be the lead vocalist…She delayed her performance for some reason. The audience was starting to become restless, rustling in their beds of dollar bills and coins. Soon enough, the crowd has reversed to its original state, that of total chaos.

The butler who had left earlier returned, bringing with him none other than the elusive ghost brawlers, Dipper and Toby. They were lead to their seat and Pacifica spotted them, as soon as they sat down. I joined them instantly, sitting right besides Toby…The blonde singer caught that gesture, and gave me, for a split second, the most ruthless and merciless glare, I could've received. That girl was vicious as a cougar. Without wasting any more time on silencing the uproar of the audience, she signaled her band to begin and surprise, surprise, the rich people suddenly got quiet. It must be because deep down, they still have a shred of respect, untainted by the filth and muck of wealth.

I've heard Pacifica sing before. Despite I hate admitting this, she had an amazing voice, truly the result of many years of training with expensive teachers nonetheless. But, even though, I was fully aware of her singing capabilities…I was still baffled to hear her tonight. It seemed that there was something else behind her voice, a message she wanted to paraverbally transmit. The lyrics of her song were pretty bland, to be honest. They were extremely obvious, the kind of hit you over the head deal, or perhaps I was just a bit too silly to dip down in the subtext, but the way they were interpreted, it was just breathtaking. I could feel every single word resonating with my soul, because behind every 'love' she was uttering, there was pain. Behind every joyful proverb she, oh so beautifully yelled, there was an aura of sorrow. She was smiling all the time, emoting, interacting with the audience, who more or less, in their mechanical manner responded, acclaiming her, but deep inside I saw the tears behind that smirk. Oddly enough, Dipper looked like he understood the same message. He tried to catch my attention a couple of times, but, with a gesture, I told him to be quiet and wait for the performance to end, out of respect. Toby, on the other hand, seemed blatantly unaware of the inner workings of this piece of art. I guess, I can point out a flaw, here, one that's been bugging me for quite a while now…He was a nice guy, extremely helpful and passionate, but he seemed so shallow…I mean, he was enjoying the song, smirking, oblivious the message Pacifica was trying to actually convey. I don't know how can someone so bright and intelligent, be dumb as a stump, when it comes to human emotions. Guess that is the takeaway, give up the good old empathy for the mighty power of the brain.

After the song's end, a true ballad in its way, because of the stunning interpretation, the crowd resumed its mindless task, that of boring each other down to tears. Pacifica was obviously going to visit us, and by us, I mean Toby, because it was clear that the goal of her song was to impress him. A thoughtful declaration as the beautiful spark to ignite a fireplace that has been building for quite a while now…

"So…what did you think about the song?" she asked Toby, but apparently Dipper was quicker to answer than Toby.

"Nice and thoughtful, pretty overused and tedious message, to be honest, but I loved the way you sang. Not quite in accordance with the tone of the song, though."

"Yeah, you seemed kinda sad, and the rhythm was really upbeat. Why was that?"

"I don't know what you two are talking about and, besides, I didn't even ask for your opinion?"

"Wh-What? Oh, hey Pacifica, wassup?"

"How, did you enjoy the show," she asked again, with a slight sigh in her tone.

"Oh, it was nice overall, pretty much everything I hear on the radio, when I'm working, but it had its neat little differences."

"Good, I'm glad you enjoyed it," she smiled genuinely, while grasping her arm. Body language for embarrassment and shame, as Dipper tells me. Interesting, given the circumstances…"Listen," she continued, this time grabbing her wrist. Again, Dipper feels the need to brag about his knowledge of the nonverbal psychology and tells me that's a sign of anxiety. "You got a moment to talk in private?"

Oh, that was the moment. She was going to ask him to flee from the roar of the party and then perhaps confess, usually accompanied by a prologue, of enlisting all the happy times they had together. Wait, why am I being so okay, about this? I liked the guy, was I going to just stay there and watch as he is getting snatched right from my grasp? After all, he had invited me to this ball, in the same awkward and clumsy manner, Pacifica was asking him to separate himself from this noisy entourage. Wasn't that a signal? Did I miss something, and I was just too caught in the moment to realize? Thankfully, Toby's obliviousness played right into my hands, because he had answered:

"Can't it wait? You interrupted me once, in the middle of doing something very important, and I am pretty sure it's going to backfire, unless I go right away."

"Well, this is pretty important, too. I don't know what takes priority, but hopefully…"

Toby was already leaving the room, this time going on a side door. Pacifica looked terribly dismayed after that, but it was only for a split second, as the sorrow turned to fear. The second he touched the door knob, the door recoiled and smacked him with an unbelievable force, sending him flying through the banquet table, that cracked immediately. The shock was freezing us all, except for Pacifica who ran towards the injured boy, while me and Dipper stared the cause of that insane stunt. It was a translucent lumberjack, who still had enough power in his ghastly limbs to kick doors open as if they were made from plastic. He was immense, standing at more than 15 feet tall, and covered the entire doorframe he so gladly exited. He wasn't much of a talker…yet, but he was aggressive and carried a massive axe on his back, that he instantly swung the second we had got closer to him. I jumped away, more pushed by Dipper, than by my own reactions, and had a split second to see the massive column that was about to fall on me, had it not bumped into the weird physics of that ghost's body. I didn't care about anything else, but getting somewhere safe, which I found pretty hard to do considering the power of that entity. Dipper and I found refuge behind a table, Toby flipped in his relentless 'charge' and Pacifica took cover behind Toby's table (if that is permitted).

"Mabel, I've got to go back to the shack."

"Why?"

"I've got to get that healing thing, so we can help Toby up."

"Again, why? Can't you just defeat this thing, then go?"

"Problem is, I don't know how…When I was in the attic with Toby, he had shown me the history of the Northwest family that was concealed by Pacifica and her parents. It was filled with all their wrongdoings, all their mishaps, all their mistakes and the mean-spirited things they have done. He was starting to speak about the ghost that possessed a certain painting we were looking for, when that butler came in and interrupted us, saying that it's imperative that the two of us, but especially "master Tobias", would join him at the party downstairs. We asked why, but he didn't answer and we had no other choice but to follow him, expecting the worst. Turns out it was just a useless parade of this heinous person. Either way, now it's not the time to hate. I've got to go…Try not to die, ok?" he said, joking, hopefully. Then, sneaking his way through the panicked crowd, I could see him leaving through the main door.

I averted my eyes for a second from Pacifica, and she was gone…I usually didn't have that eye of detectives, those people who can spot every detail by just looking in a room for a split second, however, I could instantly see the open balcony door right near her former hiding spot. As the lumberjack was busy turning people into wooden statues, a power that only seemed fit that he had, I used my extreme camouflage skill to sneak around, but I might as well walk, because he was pretty oblivious. I closed the door behind me, so the bloodcurdling screams would be a bit deafened out. It worked, and I could hear the quiet sobs of the blonde girl leaning over the ledge. She didn't hear me, so she was pretty surprised and defensive, when I touched her shoulder and said:

"Hey!"

"Wh-What do you want?" she replied, slapping my hand off and swiftly wiping her tears off, trying to keep her pride intact. She was still crying, whether she wanted it or not. I knew how she was feeling. Probably. So, I didn't lose my composure, and tried to calm her down.

"It's ok, Pacifica…I'm not judging you. Just tell me what's wrong."

"And why would I do that? We're kinda enemies remember? I don't even want you near my house, let alone comforting me…"

Well, I tried easing into it, but apparently it only works the hard, or not hard, rather extremely blunt way. If you can't change something in increments, you gotta just drop the bomb.

"Look, I know what was the deal with the song, the party, that awkward invitation, that relief when you heard him call you pretty…Do I need to go on?"

"No, I believe you have said enough…" she said angrily walking away from me, trying to avoid me as best as possible. She let herself fall with the back turned at the marble railing, letting her head fall on her knees. I knew she didn't want me here, but enemies or not, I could bury the hatchet here, and I couldn't let this poor unfortunate soul just cry itself to death. I had to be incisive and just push until she breaks.

"I believe, I didn't…I know how you feel about him…I pretty much share the same thing as you do, be it for a lot less time than you, but I've gotta say. You're pretty much a model to follow. I mean, you're blatantly showing him all this affection, you're giving him a lot of signals, obvious for most of the time…(despite they can be interpreted as you being moody, but that's none of my business)"

"And why is that good?"

"Because…I can't even do that…I am just left to suffer in silence and wait it off. I just can't get myself to do anything that you so easily pull off. I mean, in this case, I look up to you, Pacifica. You're extremely brave for putting your heart on the line, while getting nothing in return, while I just stay and…kinda wait it off."

Well, I pretty much laid all my cards on the table, and was expecting to see the answer. I created the perfect clichéd atmosphere for confessions. I combined the perfect amount of sadness, amplifying the already blown up grief with the perfect amount of compassion and understanding that she needed. This was unfortunately paired with the mitigating factor that our strained relationship was and we got ourselves…the definition of entropy. It could go either way, she would kill me right there and then, or she would cry and let it all out. Thankfully, in an anticlimactic matter, she decided to do the latter. I would've been more than excited to relate my gruesome death, but alas, I'll have to settle with this.

After, some 30-seconds of silence, her crying intensified. I overplayed my hand a little bit, but apparently it was for the greater good. I knew that she broke, and now that I am writing it, I believe I'm the one who's broken. Still, Pacifica started to tell me, bit by bit, sob by sob, her entire story…Not letting the sass behind, that is. I remained silent during this entire conversation…but I noticed something, beforehand…I remembered our good old antihero who has done nothing to contribute to the situation at hand…Note-Guy really didn't do anything tonight…I was wondering when he was going to make his presence felt.

"Well, I've been on this train for about…three years now, ever since I was ten. We were friends for much more than that. He doesn't live here, but every summer he would come to the Falls and we'd spend our vacation together. Of course, it was his vacation, more 'cause I don't go to school, but still. I don't even know what started our friendship, like I remember him being completely alone on a bench on the main street. He was looking so happy, in his cute little shorts and his funny glowing sneakers…And I don't know what he found so exciting, he was just looking at a puddle and laughing. I recall that I was walking past him with my parents and they told me to not stare at him, because he was insane, and I carefully obliged. I was only five years old, what did I know. I saw him every day, somehow he was always positioning himself on the route my parents have chosen for their daily promenade, and only when I was seven, out of curiosity I went to him and asked him, in a tone that I regret, to this day: "Why are you laughing so hard at a bunch of nothing?" I didn't expect the answer he gave me…"Why wouldn't I laugh? I enjoy watching the world, before me. I was taught to show that by laughing." For the moment, I didn't understand what he was saying. That was only the beginning of the summer. By the middle of it, I liked just sitting on that bench and listening to his one-liners. They were deep for what a seven year old could produce…We became friends that way, me being the first to sit down and actually listen to his mind. The last day of the summer, when he was going to go back, I invited him over…I wanted to boast, to show him that I had a lot of stuff. Usually, the girl friends I'd bring over would just awe at what I possessed. Dolls, dresses…usually their jaw dropped at the entrance of the gigantic mansion, but he didn't even flinch. He was this endlessly joyful kid who found something to laugh at everywhere…I was charged with keeping an eye on him, as a way to teach me responsibility. He wasn't allowed to go above the first floor, but I let him wander off, just explore. Thankfully my parents didn't notice, and I was repaid by continuously seeing his smiling face…Fast forwarding to three years later...I don't know how it happened, it just kinda did. It was perhaps the result of continuous exposure to that childlike innocence… I started acting out, a month later, at the end of the summer, but he seemed oblivious to all this…I'd then go on and on to send him letters, embedded with subtlety, but he couldn't care less for what I gathered. He was maybe not made for this kind of thing, that's what I gathered anyway…I've been trying for so long, only to get stopped in my tracks by that shield of innocence, that I fell for in the first place. I thought for a while that maybe I should step up my game and go from implicit to explicit…This was that whole song trying to say, completely blatant, so he wouldn't miss the point…Seems like that grazed the surface… But, this night, I was proven wrong, by you." Her voice suddenly got filled with anger. "I thought he was just unable to like-like someone…but apparently…"

I heard the window cracking, and both of us recoiled. The crazed lumberjack had broken down the door, and the glass panels were now nothing but shards. Behind his ghastly being, I could see the now still party, where the people have been reduced to nothing but lifeless wooden sculptures, nothing more than they were before. The lumberjack didn't say anything, but shot his blast instantly. It was pointed at Pacifica, who was frozen in fear. I shoved her out of the way, but I couldn't be fast enough…I got hit in the process. Looking down on me, I could see the marron wood creeping up on me, solidifying me…My consciousness was slowly dripping away from me…my heart stopped. I couldn't describe that feeling of stillness. I was unable to think, to feel, it was like I was in a dreamless sleep, in a coma, with the exact probability of waking up…This is where my perspective ends…This is what Dipper had told me that happened from the time that he got there, to the time that I had been unwoodened (is that even a word?). For the sake of me, being able to read this thing later and not get confused, this part will be written without…quotation marks( never knew how these little thingies were called). You'll notice a slight difference in styles, because I am extremely unique, and modest for that matter

So, I came back as fast as I could, clasping the little device knowing that if I'd lose it on the way, we would be pretty much screwed. When I walked in, the ghost was nowhere to be seen, probably pursuing the snobbish partygoers, wherever they'd be. Without hesitation, I ran towards the broken down table, to find Toby's still breathing corpse, struggling at the line between life and death. As I've done it before, I used that extremely helpful artifact, in a way, to revive him. The effects were more than immediate this time, probably prolonged exposure accelerates the effects. Needless to say, he was confused to see the state of the mansion, but he regained his wits immediately. I must say, he looked changed. His usual, somewhat goofy state, was now completely gone, leaving its place to a seriousness I wouldn't think he could be capable of.

"What happened? How long have I been out cold?"

"About two hours ago you were flung into the air by that lumberjack ghost and you landed on this very table you're now sitting over."

"Oh, fudge…Ok, no time to waste. We need to find Pacifica, now…She's probably taken refuge in a lone room on the second floor or on some balconies. Judging by the broken shards of glass over there, I think the latter falls. Let's go!"

It took me a while to comprehend what he said. His deductive reasoning was almost instantaneous. I couldn't even look towards the balcony exit, and he was already climbing up the luxurious staircase.

We had two variables at the moment and we had to avoid one, while finding the other…

"We don't need to avoid the lumberjack, because he will be pursuing the only Northwest which is above ground. His limitations are pretty straight-forward. As long as you are underground, you are safe from him. Judging by her parents' cowardice, I can be sure they're hiding in that bunker under the main hall."

"So only one person to find?"

"You got it."

We were now wandering across the hallways of the top floor. I took the right side, while he took the left. We needed to check every corner, every obscure spot where a short thirteen year old girl could hide. There was no room for error, but apparently that was only my conception. Toby had already checked four rooms, while I was still stuck on the first.

"No need to be thorough. Pacifica is smart. She can hopefully differentiate from our footsteps and a ghost phasing through the walls in order to look for her."

I didn't think about it this way…I didn't have time to be shocked though, he was turning the corner of the hall. There were a total of eight doors left. I was about to go search the ones on the right, but he stopped me.

"Let's not split up. If any of us will have the same fate as myself early on, it's best the other can revive him fast enough." Is this guy filled with flawless logic? It's becoming a bit tedious to just bow down to someone else…

We were just about to open the second door, when Toby stopped, with his hand clenching the doorknob. I didn't know why, but he stepped back and grabbed me from the doorframe, keeping me behind his arm. A second later, the door was knocked open from inside. This phantom had a knack for destroying doors, apparently. He floated out in the open hallway, silent as he has been before. However, this time, he spoke…his voice sounded like a saw cutting through an old oak tree.

"Oh, oh, oh," he said sounding like those cliché villains. "I can sense a Northwest nearby…"

"Follow him," Toby whispered to me. "He doesn't care for us, he only wants Pacifica and is pretty much drawn to her presence."

So drawn, that he had to search every room, like us, while blindly blasting doors. Still, he started floating, seemingly aimlessly towards the end of the hallway. Close to the last door, he phased through the wall and this time, we had to knock down the door that passed right through the hunched ghost…He seemed to be looking under a covered table. Toby didn't wait any second longer; he grabbed a big axe from near the doorframe and threw it at a covered painting. The second the hatchet implanted itself in the painted tapestry, it slowly ripped the entire bedsheet encasing it. I don't know how he knew that painting was of the same ghastly lumberjack, nor how damaging it in any way, would cause him to turn around and notice Toby…but either way that was the effect.

"Stay with Pacifica. I can't guarantee how much he will be following me."

Following that, he jolted off the door, with the ghost swiftly floating after him, passing straight through me. That was the strangest feeling I've ever had. It felt like there was a winter inside of me, when he phased through me…It was a cold, horrid sensation. Anyway, I had a mission. I bowed down to enter the makeshift fort that served as Pacifica's hideout. She greeted me with a strange glare, dismay mixed with anger and remorse…

"Well, hello to you too," I answered to her attitude…

"Leave me alone…" she recoiled. "I've had enough of a bad day already, I don't need your snarky attitude to top it all off."

"Hey, I am less than thrilled to be here as well. I'd rather be fighting that ghost than be stuck down here with you."

"Fine…be as hurtful as you want…I know it's my fault, after all, I might as well be blamed for it."

That was strange…Pacifica seemed to accept some sort of guilt. Like, who would take it on themselves to take the fall for their mansion being haunted? Plus, she seemed pretty regretful… Silently she got up from beneath the table and started uncovering the paintings in the room.

"Look at this," she said somewhat rhetorically. She was contemplating a painting showing, what I could only believe was some sort of ancestor of her (given that he looked like an unbearded Nathaniel Northwest), robbing the poor villagers for their money, while getting away with it. "Now look at this as well," she repeated, uncovering another painting. This time it was a more hard to interpret, but manageable. I think it was a sort of scam pulled off by the Northwests again, ripping off people to buy their property…probably on an extraordinary price. "I found this room earlier today. It is a reminder of all the bad things my family has done over the past centuries. Manipulating, lying, stealing, deceiving…I remember you calling me the 'worst link in the chain' a lot of times. I always thought it was just some sort of jealousy…Turns out I was so stuck-up and brainwashed that I couldn't see the truth. That, I truly come from a family of nothing but no-good people…"

I should've been glad that she was finally accepting what she was…But for some reason, her being so apologetic about it, and genuinely sorry, couldn't make me rejoice. Besides, I've seen how her father behaved. He was a master manipulator and a control-freak in essence. He disproved my story about Quentin Tremblin being the real founder of Gravity Falls, just by paying the media not to publish it. An egotistical maniac for that matter. Who knows what kind of upbringing that awful person could provide to his daughter? Somehow, she seemed to try to better herself…to distance herself from her family's influence…That was…strangely good of her. The first step to improving oneself is accepting you're a flawed being. I could've seen that she was about to start crying, tears about to flow over places they've flown few moments beforehand…I didn't know exactly what got into me.

"There, there," I said tapping her gently on the shoulder. "Look, I kinda blew things out of proportion in the past…You're not really the worst…After seeing all these, you're actually not half bad. I think that just because we got off on the wrong foot, we pretty much fell apart, before we could even be friends…"

For a moment, we just looked at each other, awkwardly. She was going to say something, but she was interrupted by a desperate yell, coming from downstairs. We didn't even wait for it to repeat, but we jolted out of the door as if we were fired from a handgun. By the time Pacifica and I got downstairs, we had seen what caused that unsettling scream. Toby had been hit by the lumberjack's magic. It worked strangely slow on him, the wood just creeping up on him. Slowly, rather than just encompass him altogether in seconds.

"Great timing, Dipper," Toby said apparently oblivious to the fact he was getting turned into a sculpture. His own grunts, however reminded him of that. "Look, what you gotta do. Talk to the ghost, find out what it wants. It's something about revenge. After you probably quench his thirst for vengeance, everything will be back to normal, apart from the damages to the mansion. You've got some spare change to fix up everything, right, Pacifica?"

"Mhm," she gulped as surprised as myself to see his stoic nature at its prime. "Oh, and by the way, something that's been a long time coming and I am only telling it to you like this, because I am a scared little boy who doesn't want to face the consequences of his actions," he inhaled, catching his breath as he had an acute case of logorrhea ,"point is, I really don't like you. I know you've had this crush on me for a long time now. I figured that now, that I would be able to hide behind this literal shield of wood, I could be honest. I am deeply sorry that you had wasted so much time of your life trying to get me to like you, I am sorry for me hurting you like this, right now, and most of all, I am sorry for…" he couldn't finish his sentence. He had been turned into a complete wooden sculpture. Pacifica didn't wait for another second. It was pretty surprising what she did to be honest. She went up to him, slapped his rough face, getting a few splinters in, then kissed him on the cheek. And she finished this strange ritual, right in time for two events. First one was the lumberjack's return. He had gone to God knows where in this time, probably plotting some weird scheme. The second one was the appearance of a yellow post-it on Toby's face, covering the exact spot where Pacifica hit him. I couldn't think as fast as Toby, but I could thankfully act just as fast. I ran to Toby and Pacifica, grabbing the note reading it as fast as I could:

"Hello, Dipper. It seems like this guy, got turned to a beautiful piece of mahogany. How quaint. I'd be careful, if I were you. You'd be facing the same fate, should you be reading this note." Uh,oh. I felt a jolt of pain in my back as the lumberjack's magic struck me. I turned as fast as I could to face my assailant, still holding the note in my hand. As I lost my mobility, little by little, another series of words appeared.

"By the way, tell Pacifica, near you to ask that crazed lunatic I have had to listen to every day for some time, whatever it is that he wants. That should be it." I tried calling Pacifica, but my vocal chords have already been turned to wood. As the last joints, I could still feel, were starting to flee from my control, I stretched my arm as much as I could to point at the note I was still holding…

I, Mabel, woke up from my slumber to find the party as vivid as it was before the situation started going downhill. I found Toby, Dipper and Pacifica in the main hallway, being among the few who didn't want to leave as soon as possible.

"Oh, hey Mabel, where were you?" Dipper asked.

"Oh, you know, just chilling on the balcony, being turned into wood, just the usual."

"Great, now that everyone is accounted for, I need a volunteer to come with me and destroy this magic mirror," Toby said taking a small mirror from what I think was his back pocket. "Anyone? Anyone? Mabel?"

I nodded in agreement and followed him outside. He looked back at Pacifica, and I could swear I heard him whisper: "We'll talk tomorrow," to which the blonde sighed, yet glared at him understandingly. I didn't know what we were going to do to get that thing destroyed, nor why it required my help, but I had a feeling there was something else involved. There was a small hill behind the mansion. We climbed on top of it and he laid the mirror to the side.

"You know, I didn't need any help to destroy that thing, right?"

"Now, I do. What's up?"

"Well…umm…I didn't quite think this through…I had a kind of surge of adrenaline from this ordeal. I was a completely different man back there, ask Dipper for that matter…" Well he was back to his awkward self. How appalling (that's on Dipper). There were a few brief seconds of silence, when he started talking again: "Okay…well, I did some other thing tonight, I fought a ghost for a while, on my own, I can clearly do this, right? Mabel, do you know why I invited you to come with me?"

"No idea, dude," I laughed a bit forced. I punched myself internally for calling him dude, as if I just got myself a chill pill.

"Well, then…That's a bummer. I thought you could do the work for me…Remember how we met?"

"You won me a pig. A pig that I wanted and you somehow came from nowhere and gave it to me after I had lost it. That was the best thing that happened to me that day, and the cutest gesture I've ever been a part of." That last bit could've used a little better phrasing.

"And…do you know why I did that?"

Ok, this guy is killing me on the inside. I mean, I don't really know what's going on, but I think I know the answer to that question…And boy, don't I want to say it out loud, but I don't have it in me to do it…But you know what. I thought too much. It's high time I went back to my old silly self.

"I think, it's because…you like me?" I innocently said.

"Well…that was easier than expected…So?"

"So what?"

"So…what do you say in accordance to this auspicious situation?"

"Wha…?"

"Never mind that, I get a bit carried away, when I am nervous, and I can feel my heart skipping beats…"

I had no answer prepared. Yet I answered.

"Well…I like you too. Is that what you want to hear?"

"Exactly," he said smiling. He leaned towards me, and I think I've seen this move a lot of times before. A lone hill, safeguarded by the trees all around us, the moon shining brightly overhead…It was the romantic utopia…I closed my eyes and let my body do the talking for me, but…I kinda waited for too long? No, it wasn't that. I felt his hand, grabbing something from my hair, and his face turned from excitement, to anger and then instantly to fear and sorrow.

"Mabel…I've got to go right now…I can't explain it, but I've got to run. See you tomorrow, and for what it's worth, I hope we're together now!" his voice fainted away as he confounded himself with the nocturnal shadows…There was a little piece of paper on the ground, but it wasn't the yellow post-it tint, I grew so horribly accustomed to. It was an old, worn out white note, and on it, blood red the words: "It's time" were written.


	9. Discoveries

I didn't know what to think after what had happened yesterday night. It was all so sudden, it was too fast for me to comprehend. Although, he made something very clear: we were now an official couple, as if we need to be written down in the town's register or something. I can't think properly, at the moment, I'm not even sure why am I even writing right now, but it worked in the past, it can and should work now as well, right? Also, our sudden separation, is still bugging me. I still have that teeny tiny piece of paper, and I am studying it at the moment, trying to understand what time it is…I mean, it clearly freaked him out, because he jolted away in an instant, but what could it be? I am now trying to study the note in its entirety, but it offers me nothing. It's different paper, a completely different writing, it's simple, it lacks anything that would make me think of Note-Guy…However, the timing was impeccable. In the heat of the moment, so to speak. I approached this situation from all the angles I could, now only one thing was left. When you have exhausted all points of view, send your mind away for a while, and you will find a new perspective… And that's what I am going to do…

Now, that I've gotten past my so-called writer's block, and that the night is nigh, let me continue this little part, by retelling the events of today. And boy…weren't they tense. First thing I settled upon was that I should avoid Toby as much as I could today. Not only physically, but mentally as well. Therefore, I needn't see him nor hear about him. At first, I thought that any sort of interaction with Dipper would've inevitably led to that, but surprisingly enough, our conversation was pretty amical at the breakfast table. We didn't really talk much about last night, and it seemed to me he was also avoiding that topic. I proved that I was quite good at 'forcing' people to speak their mind, but Dipper wasn't Pacifica. He wasn't as closed as her, but he was more Dipper-y. I tried something else, when cracking him open…

"So…some night we had, right?"

"You can say that again…What did you do with Toby?"

That turned out worse than I expected. However, I had everything under control. And by control, I mean chaos. Be that as it may, I managed to avoid it, and pass the 'test' with flying colors.

"Oh, nothing much. We destroyed that mirror, then he left instantly, saying he's got something to do." That was an outright lie, but I didn't care. It was for my greater good. "What about you? I remember that you didn't come back home, with me, you wanted to stay a bit longer. Why was that?" I couldn't help my smirk, there. Guilty.

"I wanted to study some weird painting I saw in the attic, so I stayed late. I even brought it with me back here, because I wanted to…"

"You're lying."

"Huh?"

"You know, I can lie with a straight face, but you have this weird tic when you lie."

"What's that?"

"Well…" Okay, I was bluffing. I wanted to sound smart, and it backfired. I don't know why I tried to one-up everyone, lately. Perhaps it's the fact that I have to deal with two mentally superior people now, instead of the usual one, or maybe there was something wrong with me…Probably, the latter.

"Well?' Dipper asked anxiously.

"Okay, you caught me. You don't have any tic, but I can tell you how, I realized that, though," I said taking a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

"Amaze me, sis."

"Humph, okay. First of all, you've got a red mark on your cheek, and I'm sure it's not from any zits you popped earlier. Second of all, I don't know how the heck you slept, but you've got some long blonde hairs, stuck to your shoulders and back. So, unless you had decided to steal a wig and put on make-up for some weird reason I'm not even going to bother to discuss, I'm waiting for a detailed retelling of tonight's events from your POV."

Dipper's jaw dropped. I know he wasn't used with me being all private eye on him, and moreover he couldn't wrap his head around how I managed to spot all these minute details. Come to think of it, I don't know either. It's strange how lately, I've discovered some new abilities, I didn't even think I possessed and it all started with this diary. Probably, thinking that someday someone would read this as Dipper reads that #3 Journal made me embark on this crusade of bettering myself. Good for me. Now that I am done gloating, I should write down Dipper's answer, which was surprising nonetheless.

"Well, Mabel, a tip of the hat for you," he said taking his cap off. "I didn't think you could be so insightful and observant, so…kudos, I guess."

"You're still not off the hook. Spit it out," I playfully teased him.

"Alright, alright…I stayed back to..." he kept pausing, knowing that I would soon lose interest. Oh, how wrong was he.

"Stop gallivanting and tell me, already."

"How do you know that word?"

"I sleep with a dictionary on my nightstand," I proudly admitted.

"Okay…fine, fine, God you're persistent. I stayed back because Pacifica asked me to…"

"I'm gonna be needing more than that to be happy," I said smiling widely as I could already imagine what happened.

"Urgh…you're impossible you know that?"

"I know, aren't I lovely?"

"Barely…Fine, you know what, no point in hiding it. I hanged a little while longer and we started talking about how her parents have oppressed her for so long, destroying every strand of individuality she had in her, leaving her to become a mirror of her parents, how she was so brainwashed that she still had implanted deep inside her brain, the command to obey whenever she heard a certain bell ringing…You know, I started seeing her in a brand new light…I thought she was just a spoiled brat, who was just mean for the sake of being snobbish, but apparently her part of the blame was inexistent. She is but the result of an extremely malevolent upbringing, and I felt sorry for her. I kinda regret all our mishaps in the past, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it, I get it, bad parents equals bad kid. How about you fast forward a bit to the ending?"

"Pfff…okay, but you won't escape my questioning, after I'm done with this. And, since I can't wait for that, I'll just say that she hugged me, ergo the blonde hairs on my shoulder, and she gave me a kiss on the cheek, thus, that red spot, I tried wiping off. Content?"

"Extremely!" I said hugging him tight. Not only did he find himself a girlfriend, it was such a multilayered girl like Pacifica. We had our differences in the past, but a lot of time has passed since then… And now, according to Dipper's 'testimony' she was actually a good person deep inside. Good for him that he had managed to see past the appearance of one to reach their essence. But now, that my questioning was done…I had reached the point where I was going to take the stand and be the one to be prosecuted. The single thing I tried to avoid, mind you. I still had a little bit of emotional manipulation in me, so I prolonged the hug as long as I could, before we both found it awkward…

"Now that my beans have been spilled on the table, it's your turn."

"My turn to what?" I tried to act oblivious. 'Tried' is an overstatement.

"You really believe that I will buy that whole 'destroyed the mirror' thing, when I know for a fact, you didn't leave for fifteen minutes?"

"Yep, pretty much," I said using my most innocent tone. Dipper was not impressed.

"Great. Now, tell me everything, and don't leave out any details," he said mimicking my earlier gestures.

"Pfff…Well, to contrast with your highly interesting night, mine wasn't that filled with fireworks. He basically confessed to me, to which I replied, after a lot of mental pauses, with, well, the truth. Then, when he leaned in to 'seal the deal', he noticed what I could only think was that note, taped to my hair, then left hurriedly, looking scared," I said taking out the note from my pocket. Dipper analyzed it for a bit, then returned it.

"Well, that's vague enough to be our beloved character, but it's also a completely different note and writing."

"Thank you, I've noticed that in my hour of analyzing it."

"Well, what can I say…I'm sorry for you, Mabel. Perhaps you'll settle it today, when you'll meet up, you lovebirds."

"Oh, boo-hoo, look who's speaking. You probably have the same plans, don't you?"

"Umm…no, because I'm not dating Pacifica…We're just friends."

"Riiiiight," my voice drifted showing my blatant lack of trust.

"Think what you want, but this doesn't change facts. We just set aside our differences and learnt that we can be friends, despite our past experiences."

"Good for you," I said, the same tone as earlier signaling that I still didn't even bother to listen to his lies. That, unfortunately marked the end of our conversation, retelling past events that we both could pretty much assume happened. It was just running around the same situation, stating the obvious to each other. It's like we're the characters in a book of a person with writer's block…We just dance around the same events over and over again, pretty beaten to death, mind you, while expecting different results…I believe that is what Einstein said, the definition of insanity is (this came to me after a quick search, though). Either way, since this journal is kept, not to accurately state events, but rather my opinion on them, and not on all, but the most important, I will gloss over my boring day, and skip to the point where, when I was in the shop watching the register, Toby came in. He…wasn't looking his best. Whereas he was usually pretty well put together, to use a metaphor, he seemed to have just woken up from a seemingly eternal slumber and put on the first things he saw in the closet. His hair wasn't combed, he had eye bags, looking as if he pulled an all-nighter, burning the midnight oil. On top of that, he gave off an attitude of sickness all around him, contagious, despite perfectly healthy. You wouldn't want to keep at least ten feet between you and him. He walked with uncertain steps, shaking towards the counter, while knocking over a cap stand.

"Holy molly, are you ok?" I asked concerned.

"Y-yeah, I am perfectly fine," he stuttered, his voice sounding like the whisper of a dying man. "Just haven't had a good night sleep. Missing those eight hours is turning me into a zombie."

"Well, then go home and take a nap or something, what are you even doing here?!"

"I wanted to invite you over my place, tonight. I feel that last night has been a bit…a bit more, abrupt, so I want to make it up to you…But, just…don't raise your hopes that high. It might not exactly be your piece of cake…" He was barely speaking and for that entire conversation he was looking through me.

"Okay, then…Say, be there by six?"

"P-Perfect. See you then," he said while already being halfway towards the exit. He was more crawling than he was walking…It made me wonder if there wasn't something more about his condition. I mean, you don't turn into an undead just because you skipped a few hours of sleep, right? After he stumbled with the doorknob and with the door itself, he finally made it out of the store.

With the required fast-forwarding to the meaningless 8 hours between that moment and six o'clock, I found myself wandering aimlessly around the town. Neither of us realized that I didn't know where he lived, so I was left to roam the streets, hoping to guess the right door. It didn't help that I didn't know his full name, so I couldn't search for the 'x' residence in a phone book, like our grandparents did. Plus, I had to take a shot, whether he lived in a house or in one of those cute little block of flats down Main Street, by the end of which I stopped. The concrete was mixing with the dirt of the outskirts of the town. There was a small path, whose last remains were still visible, and something inside me yelled to follow it. The faded road lead me through the forest on an interesting yet brief walk. The trees protecting me were plastered with signs, reading "Beware!" or "Keep away!" but I didn't care much for them. All around me, I could hear a strange buzzing noise, as if I was surrounded by mosquitoes, yet I could see none. As the path got more worn out, I could see a pattern. The quiet static got louder and the warnings grew in number…Strangely enough, at the end, I could see a small hut, seemingly rising from nothing. It was like a giant just threw it from the sky and it landed there, that's how out of place it was. Moreover, it had a pretty weird mix of details to it. The door was looking as if it was just bought yesterday, yet the windows seemed to be ancient. The grass was uncut, sprawling all over the place, yet there were colorful flowers on the window sills. The entire cabin was made out of wood, yet the roof was looking like it was completely made of stone. Intrigued by this antithetic appearance, my curiosity lead me to enter the small alley, but my common sense stopped me right in front of the door. I rang the doorbell, only for the door to open before my eyes, as if there was someone behind it. To my amazement, clichéd nonetheless, the house was empty. To follow suit, the interior was a complete opposite of the outside appearance. There were two rooms, both looking the exact same to me, despite one having noticeably more computer screens than the other. I didn't even try to understand what was written on them. All six monitors had unintelligible symbols running across them, with numbers accompanying them. On the desk with the keyboard, there was a pen and clipboard, with a list on it, or the remnants of it, at least. It was torn from the middle, leaving only the beginning of the sentences to be visible.

"Follow the si…Find out about…Find the cul…Defeat it."

Those were meaningless to me, but probably of utmost importance to the inhabitant of this home. Since the room was otherwise empty, I proceeded to the next one, which seemed to be the bedroom of said person. He was an extremely organized person. The bed was made, there were no clothes to be seen everywhere, yet the lights were on. He must've left in a hurry, forgetting that lamp turned on. The bed was small, modest to say the least, but it had a night-stand near it. There was a bottle of pills, its label being colored over with a red marker. I felt like snooping around the living quarters of someone was a bit inappropriate, but I couldn't help my thirst for knowledge. Like the previous room, this chamber was pretty much empty. The only thing left to look through was the small closet door opposite to the bed.

My jaw dropped when I saw what it was actually hiding. The door was mounted on the wall, and behind it there was a complete different world. First off, there had to be some magic about this place, because no one could hide so much in such a little place. The ceiling was about fifteen feet high, and inside this concealed area, there stood victorious an immense portal, bearing strange markings. Connected to it, there were a lot of wires, all coming out of another computer, with a keyboard the size of a dinner table for an extended family. Scattered across it, there were strange drawings, some were completely senseless scribbles, while others were detailed pieces of art, portraying different men. On one corner, there was…a yellow post-it and beneath it the same rugged piece of paper I have collected last night. It even had the same uncanny writing… The yellow post-it, however had the handwriting of Note-Guy.

"You'll never be able to succeed, I don't even know why you're still trying. Although your perseverance is admirable, it is meaningless effort. That portal will never be functional, let alone lead you to where you want…" The rest was ripped off.

I stepped away in fear, and I slipped over something on the floor. After regaining my balance, I looked down to find that it was another vial of pills, the same red label as before, yet this one was empty. Behind me, there was a shelf filled with the same medication I tripped over. This person was either extremely sick or just an addict. The last piece of furniture, in the last corner of the room left unexplored was a small desk, with a stool in front of it. On it there was an open book, and a gold-encrusted pen, dipped in ink. I read the open page.

"It is with great pride that I write down this achievement. For the first time I had been able to explore the dimension this wretched portal opens to…After two years, I could make it stable enough for me to pass through…despite it being in this state for only twenty two seconds. It's still a progress though. On the other side, there was nothing but a dark room, with a big table in the middle of it. That must be the site of the First Trial. Further experimentation is required. I am not sure, how much I have until I'm finally done with all this and I can return to my careless life, but I can't wait to feel like that again. Thankfully, I found an ailment to my pain, that isn't medication, I get without prescription from the drug store ran by an old senile lady. Speaking of which…the blackouts are getting worse. I sometimes have hours when I cannot act, cannot move, when I am in another world completely. It's worrying that not even increasing the dose doesn't help anymore, otherwise, for a brief moment, I feel an unbelievable amount of pain, and then I change. Every time I wake up from these moments…I am completely different. I've found out finally what my four states are, but they seem to appear in a random order every time. First of all I am a hopeless dreamy guy, random acts of kindness being a characteristic. Then I become strangely brave, but I lose most of my sanity, which leads me to reckless, life-threatening acts…Sometimes I am a very annoying person, oblivious, pretty much lacking my usual insight over the world and last of all I am the embodiment of cynicism. This state was the last to be discovered…I become nothing short of a machine with the minimum of humanity left in me. My research upon myself is not complete though…There might be more 'me's coming out as time goes by, but so far I am proud to say that I can keep them under control, so they don't happen so often anymore. Thank you..." there was a long line on the paper, and I could only believe that was because the pen was thrown away while this was written…What the heck was that? Who was this person? What was his problem?" I was about to find out.

I could feel heavy steps coming from the hallway. I can't express the fear I felt. I was trespassing on the property of an extremely elusive individual, who is clearly riddled with a strange affliction…I could only hope that he wasn't in his crazed state, this time. I closed the closet and waited, terrified in the darkness of the hidden room. I could feel time slowing all around me. The sweat dripping on my forehead took hours to fall down on the floor, creating a deafening noise to me. Between every single step, there was an eternity. Yet, with every eternity…he approached. I was almost crying, almost fainting, almost dying on the inside, with every second that passed. The second I could feel the door opening, I crawled in a corner, pulling my sweater over my head, waiting for my inevitable demise. I was scared to look death in the eyes, defying it. I heard his uneasy stride growing closer to me…The second it touched me, I could feel tears drowning me. The first thing I saw was a gun barrel staring down at me, behind it a poorly lit figure. The buzzing from earlier returned growing louder and louder, becoming painful in one second…I fainted right after.

I woke up in the room outside the closet. My vision was blurry, and it wasn't because of drowsiness. I could make out a strange silhouette, a man looking outside the window, oblivious to me. Next to me, there was the small vial of pills and the gun I was threatened with. It looked strangely futuristic now, but I couldn't think of anything else other than escaping. Since he was so preoccupied to contemplate the nature outside, I thought I could sneak out, but the second I tried to get out of bed, I lost my balance and fell with a loud thud to the ground. I could hear a startled "huh?" in a strangely familiar voice, then the same heavy footsteps approaching me.

"You woke up earlier than I expected, Mabel…" I couldn't figure out who that was, because it felt like he was speaking through a fan.

"W…w…who…" I tried to speak, but my tongue was not listening to me.

"Shh, just relax," he said, picking me up and laying me in bed. "I'll be back with the solution to your condition in an instant…Then, I believe you and I are going to have a very serious talk…Sorry for drugging you, by the way."

And he was gone. He returned shortly, carrying an unrecognizable item.

"I hope you're not afraid of needles, but now that I hear this, I think I shouldn't have said that."

I couldn't react in time. I felt a short pain in my arm, but then instantly, my vision begun to return to me. I saw that I wasn't wearing my blue kitten sweater anymore, and my little led sneakers were right near the bed…But, the last thing I noticed was Toby sitting next to me with an empty syringe in his hand. I didn't know how to feel about this…He drugged me yet he was the one who saved me, but most important of all…he was the elusive character living in this strange hut…

"Okay…will you tell me WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!"

"Well…I didn't want you to find out this way…I reckon since you got inside my secret room, you've read my diary right?"

"Yeah…what was that all about?"

"Great, then I don't have to tell you all that, thank God. I've got to only tell you the cause of this…So," he said sitting down, looking in my eyes, with sorrow and pain in his, "the story begins about 3 years ago. I was nothing but a little boy, whose IQ was a bit above average, but not by much, spending my summer at my father's house in Gravity Falls. He was an alcoholic, but he loved me, and that was the first time, since their divorce, my mother allowed him to take care of me for such a long period of time. I've visited the town before, though, ever since I was a kid. He was living here, in the room we are in at the moment, and everything you saw in that room," he said pointing at the closet," was there when I first came here. My dad had been researching interdimensional travel all his life, and that's what that portal stands for…I didn't know that. This is why the first time I discovered it, and it was working at that time, I stepped through it. On the other side there was none other than Bill Cipher, meddling with some magic in a dark room. 'Oh, look what good ol' serendipity brought here…the last piece of the puzzle.' he said. I didn't understand what he was saying and I was too scared that a triangle with a top hat was speaking to me…That was the only thing he had said, and then he started mumbling in an unknown language, his color changing from yellow to red, to an eerie purple, then to black. I could feel a splitting headache, tearing me apart, causing me to lose consciousness and faint. When I regained my senses, I was face to face with…myself, only that he looked completely different. Light blonde hair, black eyes, a dark blue T-shirt and white shorts…The next second I was back through the portal…But the house was different…The room of my dad, and my dad were gone, and where he lived had become this place. I tried calling my mother but the phone number didn't exist. I tried writing her e-mails and letters, but that address belonged to someone else. I found a yellow post-it note on the bed. 'Congratulations, kid, you were chosen by your bad luck to find your fate in Gravity Falls. You're gonna have to find that opposite self of yours to realize what that thing is. That portal over there is your only chance, by the way. You'll need to get through what I like to call the Twin Trials, so you can succeed in your journey. Do that and you win, yay! Fail and, well, you lose, and also die, for that matter, so yeah. Get on it. Oh, by the way, I'm that opposite self of yours you gotta find. Good luck!(you'll need it)'. That was exactly 1064 days ago, Mabel…"

He stopped talking, and was now staring blankly at his shoes. I believe that was the end of his story…And even if it wasn't, he couldn't continue. I saw a tear running cold on his cheek. I didn't know what to say. All my life, I was this joyful person, surrounded by happy people, and the only one I had to comfort was Dipper, whose problems were nowhere near Toby's. I didn't know what to do, apart from just getting up and hug him, trying to stick all his broken pieces back together. His reaction was…laughing. He was laughing and sobbing, with endless hiccups.

"It's going to be okay," I whispered softly and soothingly.

"It…it is…" he replied in between sobs. For some minutes, we did nothing. We were just one body, hopping up and down as he was letting all his worries out through the miracle of weeping. When he finally calmed down, he looked at his watch, and reached for the bottle of pills on his nightstand.

"What are those for?" I asked as he already swallowed a fistful.

"Seizure medication. It used to help, with my blackouts, but now they are nothing more than sugar pills…"

"What are these blackouts exactly?"

"I lose control of my body, but I wake up in different locations every time. I don't know what's going on during this time, but sometimes, I wake up a completely different person…And I despise this. I feel like I'm having multiple personality disorder…"

"But you said you found some sort of ailment, doesn't it work?" I asked, not expecting to hear that answer.

"Well, it works for and against me. It served as a catalyzer, an amplifier, prompting me to change personas continuously…But at the same time, the happiest moments were when I could be myself again, without any fears…"

"When were those?"

"You can't guess? Those were the times I spent with you, Mabel. I was worried that what I felt for you wasn't really mutual, so that prompted me to just switch until I was what you'd like, but when I had my certitudes, I stuck to that personality, just out of sheer stubbornness. Until I didn't…"

I was left speechless, but at the same time I wanted to ask him so many questions…The most burning one came out.

"But why me? Why…"

"Shh, I get it. Because, you reminded me of my old self. Playful and selfless, a kindred soul, as I believe Gideon put it. I missed looking in the mirror and seeing my true self, the one I couldn't ever be again…The first time I saw you, you were rejoicing over seeing a pig sty, something I'd have done as well in my good days. But then, that glimmer in your eyes disappeared when you lost Waddles. I wanted to retrieve that shine…And at the same time I used that as a pretext to get to know you."

I was slowly starting to cry, and I'm feeling that I'm going to wet these pages as well, but I'll keep going. Just to relieve that memory, it's worth it.

"But, what about Pacifica?"

"Well, she was the friend I needed, but she lacked a lot I wanted…She was nice at the interior, but otherwise such a bland person…Never changing, just the same kind heart oppressed by the same poisonous upbringing."

"And what about that portal?"

"It's an interdimensional gate. My father and some old guy have been the people who have made it work, but they had never gotten so far as to actually step through it. I managed to be a bit more precise, and after all, precision is the difference between a butcher and a surgeon."

"And those symbols…?"

"Those are something else. But I'm going to let both you and Dipper know about it tomorrow…It's getting late, you should be heading home."

The sun has set for quite a while and the moon swung it rays at us through the window. He got my sweater from the adjacent room, while I put my sneakers on, and we left through the night. When we got out, I looked back and the house…was different.

"Hey, wasn't this…"

"A hut? Yes, it was. I can change the way it looks on the exterior and interior, because my father was a genius who learnt a lot about space management and reality layering."

"Huh?"

"I can change how it looks, that's all you have to know…"

We walked in utter silence to the shack, just enjoying the silence, under the silver rays of the moon. It was such an exhilarating feeling, strolling down the empty streets, holding hands, at night. This day, because I am writing this page right after we split up, was…amazing. I finally dipped down into who Toby really was and that was something I had to do for such a long time…And it all had this aura of mystery to it that lifted only to leave us with what he had that moment. Before he was gone, I asked him one last question…I was on the porch and he was about twenty feet down the road.

"Toby…You wanted to show me the other house, not the hut right?"

"Yep…I wanted to keep this charade until it would fade away. When I found the door open, I went to my office and grabbed that gun, which is, in essence, a glorified tranquilizer, and I was about to put whoever had come in and dump him onto a bench on Main Street. When I saw you, I did the same thing, but then I came to think whether it was the best thing to do…I laid you on my bed, while pondering about what to do…I decided to just come clean…No point in prolonging the seemingly inevitable." He didn't look at me while speaking, and didn't wait for my reply. He vanished in the night right after he was done...


	10. Into The Dark Room

It was the crack of dawn when I got up. I just couldn't sleep anymore, knowing that I was going to finally find out more about my boyfriend. Wow, that was weird to write, and much weirder to process. Still it had a nice aura to it, plus it sounded nice, 'boy-friend'. I told Dipper last night that Toby was going to tell us a bit about himself, and he was ecstatic. I don't think he realized that it was going to be a lot more personal than purely objective…I still had questions for him that I didn't ask yesterday. Like, what was that note that he received? That was kinda my only question, but using the plural is fun. I looked at the clock and it was only six o'clock and digging my head in the pillow didn't help. Plus, I usually am the first one to go to sleep, because if I were to wait for Dipper, I would have to endure his snores that were somehow worse than Waddles'…

I didn't have anything else to do, so I got up, got dressed and got on the roof, to watch the first glimmers of sunshine. I always loved seeing the sun rise and set. Those colors were my definition of beauty. As an aspiring artist, I had to have an etalon, right? The fiery depths of sunrays were what I considered the pinnacle of aesthetic, with the vivid red, mixing with the exuberant yellow, conflating into a plethora of nuances, ranging from the early crimson to the late gold…They exulted with warmth and basked us, puny mortals in their mighty power, filling our souls and hearts with the joy of life. I love contemplating nature…It's seldom I can do that back home, in a small town surrounded by a concrete jungle in California. It's rarer that I can also write down my thoughts. They usually lose themselves in the nebula which is my mind. Now, here I am, detailing it with words I didn't think I was capable of understanding, let alone use, two months ago. Now, in retrospect, this summer had been pretty amazing…I achieved my goal, of getting my one summer love, and apart from that, I managed to grow as a person in pursuing said goal. How quaint, that I had managed to develop in such a lovely manner, by just following the steps to success. However, I can't attribute all this to myself. I've had my fair share of help, from the two most important boys in my life…Dipper was the 'enabler' (I think that was the word), while Toby was pretty much the 'cause'…

By the way, I am writing all this on the spot, like, I am now on the roof, and this stupid wind keeps blowing in my pages, interrupting my reflection. Now, where was I before I got cut off by nature? Oh, yeah, I was about to write a paragraph about Toby, perhaps with no rhetoric interrogations to myself, which are pretty gratuitous. Now, I was hoping that I'd find someone that wouldn't be so…unusual. He had to stand out, but I was hoping he'd be something like an artist, more than a scientist. But, alas, I am happy with my choice. This guy…is a genius, and I don't use that word for many people. I mean, Dipper is a smart kid, a really smart one, for that matter, but he is fading in comparison with Toby. The guy, had a research lab in his house and a portal to other timelines…that he himself has made to work! At thirteen years old! If that is not the definition of heightened intellect, I don't see what is. And strangely enough, he didn't fit the pattern of socially unable geniuses. He wasn't the best, but clearly not awkward in many situations. Plus, if you can manage to catch the eye of a Northwest, you certainly have some skills. He was shy, or more accurate, preferred to be alone, rather than in a group, but, as every girl, I found that cute. Moving along in this psychological portrait, we have that amazing multiple personality disorder he had mentioned, to which, I, a person who has spent this summer writing my memories in a diary, was pretty oblivious. It was…something. It was…scary. Knowing that he could turn from the kindhearted Toby, I know and love to a cynical, emotionless machine is pretty much to take in at a time. I read Dipper's 'entry'. In that state, Toby was blunt, calculated, precise, lacking empathy to the extent, you couldn't differentiate him from a super-advanced robot. He also got a bit authoritarian, lacking those questions, he tends to ask:" You wanna do that?", and proved to be kinda annoying. I've never seen the brave part, and hopefully I won't because, frankly that's the one I would despise the most. I couldn't see him being nothing but a blood-crazed maniac who acts on impulse, rather than on rational thought…Since that was pretty much why I admired him, seeing him as nothing but an instinct-driven animal…I think that the only state, I liked him was in that hopeless romantic one…It doesn't help that the three others are bad, and only one is redeeming. However, there is something else I am interested in. If those are just split personalities of him, how was he as a whole? I liked the romantic Toby…but what if the real one wasn't what I actually wanted? What if I would be disappointed to see that who I've fallen in love with, wasn't actually who I thought…That sounds like an extremely obvious question, only that mine was, a bit more founded than those of 'regular' people…I couldn't like him just because of good looks, that, boy, did he have. I think that I might've painted his picture before, but nonetheless, I'll do it again. He was a bit taller than I was, a solid build, but not very muscular, an athletic body type, nimble, yet powerful. He was walking as if the ground beneath him was made of clouds, stepping light as a cat-burglar. I didn't see him fighting, but I guess he is pretty agile and fast, having fended that ghost for so long, as Dipper stated, while at the same time being able to think and act faster than a usual human… Now to what matters the most in a masterpiece…His face was clear, untainted by freckles and zits, as if he was wearing multiple layers of make-up. He was somewhat of a baby-face, but rather pale, missing that blush in his weak cheeks. He was pretty green around the gills, borderline sickly, always looking close to throw up. His lips were a faded pink, and his teeth were pearl-white, yet with the same worn out look as his mouth…He had the face of an old man in detail, but that of an infant in its entirety…He had a small nose, girlish, with a little curve at the tip…However, what saved this portrait seemingly made by blurry traces of paint, was his eyes…They were the most beautiful glimmering emeralds, I've ever seen in my short life. It's hard to describe their actual color…they were bright, but not quite catlike, but at the same time dark, but not that horrible seaweed…They reminded me of St. Patrick's Day, so I guess the best word to describe them is shamrock. Not the color was interesting, though. His irises were as if you were looking at a leaf through a microscope. So many fibers were seen, giving his eyes the feeling as if they were just vines crawling up a white tree. He had no veins surrounding them either…They were just an island of green in a sea of ivory. They were the first thing I noticed about him. And I couldn't help but lose myself in their infinity. His gaze was so powerful, it was like Toby was watching deep inside my soul, every time our eyes met. That was an interesting feeling, to say the least. Both exhilarating, yet somewhat overpowering and…terrifying.

I looked at the sky again, only to see that the sun wasn't anymore just being born from the horizon, but was now dominating it, being about halfway towards its peak. What time was it? Well, I think that the fact that I saw Toby entering the porch and heard his loud knocks on our old wooden door. It must be time for the talk…I decided it was about time to bid farewell to the lovely atmosphere and the feeling of being above the world and climb back down into the world below. Now I should close the diary…

Okay, I don't know why I brought this little book with me on my trip, but I am sure glad I did, otherwise I would've lost my mind…On the way down from the roof, I met up with Toby, who was somehow already in and ready to see us. He didn't look any different from what I've described him, although there was a little more color on his face. He didn't tell me anything, he just pointed towards my bedroom and I followed him in. Again…strangely enough Dipper was waiting in there…Who opened the door for him? That question soon evaporated, when Dipper broke the silence.

"So…what did you want to talk to us, Toby?"

"Well…I want to clarify a lot of things, about this town and about myself…to both of you. And, I can't think of a better way to break it to you, than with a simple question. Do you think that all these weird occurrences are the work of science or magic?"

That question was…mind-blowing. We had time travelers with amazing gizmos, enchanted crystals, game characters coming to life, yet gnomes, Bill Cipher and ghosts…What the heck was actually going on?

"It's…science, right? All of it." Dipper's answer was short but confident.

"True, there is no magic involved, but this comes down to what science you believe applies…"

"I don't get where you're aiming at," Dipper said in disbelief.

"Well, if you're thinking of solely physics, mathematics and chemistry, you'll be wrong…Bill is the main reason why, because he defies many laws of these aforementioned disciplines."

"Therefore, we must find our answers in…" my brother continued firmly believing in his theory.

"Philosophy…Before you flip," Toby cut Dipper short, while he was about to interrupt him," let me explain. I hope you're familiar with the balance and entropy theories, therefore it might not come as a shock that our universe tends to entropy, forever. However, balance is kept, somehow…Those beings that keep this balance are called 'Neutrals' due to their alignment. There are good and evil, but in-between there are these fellas. And these guys, are in turn split as well in lawful neutrals, true neutrals and chaotic neutrals…Bill is one of these beings, surreptitiously chosen to serve this purpose. However, his 'chaotic' nature has been what caused him to switch sides, from that who keeps the balance to that who destroys it. He became a lawful force of evil, with throwbacks to his former neutral allegiance…Now he is what he is…His powers are pretty straightforward. Teleportation, mind and body control, those are things achieved through science, albeit extremely advanced, to the point our puny intellects cannot comprehend it. We are like the cavemen who believed the fire was witchcraft…"

…That was baffling. Magic was the easy way out, in my opinion, but apparently it goes way deeper than that. Still, what bearing did it have on the situation at hand? Why was it so important that, right now he had to tell us this? I was confused…But intrigued nonetheless.

"So…what's the point of all this?" Dipper asked, sharing my idea exactly.

"Glad you asked, Dipper. I remember you having received a sort of suitcase-laptop, from a crazy old man, right?"

"Wh-What?!" Dipper asked slightly scared. "How did you know that? I didn't tell anyone, as he told me."

"Yeah, I don't know how to tell you, but that laptop, whose countdown is extremely important, was made by that same old man. In the prime of his youth, he was a genius, having contributed numerous entries in your journal. Not directly, though, he merely discovered them. But knowledge, drives one insane, should he not be prepared, or should it overbear its holder…But enough about that. I need to see that suitcase."

Dipper wasn't really sure about that. I will gloss over the fact that he kept a secret from me, whereas I was extremely open to him and just retell the events. He got up from his bed and pulled a rugged suitcase from under it. He opened its locks and then showed it to Toby, and his face changed instantly, from a warm, almost smug smile to pure and raw shock and despair. I wanted to see what prompted him to react in such a way. I couldn't see anything else but a series of numbers, a countdown, with presumably days to spare.

"Dipper…Did these numbers ever change, like hours draining down in the span of seconds?"

"Not really. Time passed as it should, with the slight exception when I believe it dropped a few minutes instantly…"

"What date is it?"

"The 20th of August, why?" I answered, finally bringing my contribution to the conversation.

"Uh-oh…"

As he finished that short interjection, a loud explosion was heard in the distance. Toby rushed to the window to see a short column of smoke, rising from the woods…from his home. He didn't say anything and sprinted down the stairs and into the forest. He left so suddenly, we didn't even notice he was gone, until he was already making his way down the path. Dipper looked at the laptop and experienced the same shock as Toby…This time, however, the numbers were dropping rapidly…and even I got a little worried. The clock stopped with only minutes to spare, thirty to be precise.

"Mabel, we gotta go see what caused the explosion, now!"

He didn't even wait for my consent, but he left, instantly darting out the door as he finished his sentence. I didn't have time to do anything, but somehow I grabbed my diary from the nightstand I left it on…

Having reached Toby's house, we were surprised to see the only smoke coming out to be from his chimney. It was the same hut I saw yesterday, nothing out of the ordinary. The door was wide open so we entered, and I showed Dipper the way to the secret room from the closet. Now here is where everything started going downhill…The second the wardrobe's door was opened, we were struck by a powerful gust of wind, and instantly after, the same malicious force had dragged us in, sealing our only way out in the process. After we recovered and dusted our clothes off, we both were amazed, for different reasons, though, to see that the portal was not only open, but electricity seemed to arc out of it. It wasn't just functional…it was also unstable. Toby was at the enormous keyboard, frantically looking through his diary, while the monitors were flickering with random numbers and symbols. Warnings were all over the place.

"What's going on?!" we both asked the stressed out kid who was struggling to grab a hold of the situation.

"Long story short, that wretched laptop should've shown the doomsday as being the 1st of September, not the 29th of August, and now we have to suffer the consequences of an altered timeline."

"ALTERED TIMELINE?!" we both yelled as a sudden alarm started ringing. Toby turned it off and answered, as the portal behind him started to act more erratic as time passed.

"The fact that Mabel got lost in another timeline, pretty much crashed our whole world, and now my portal is active, signaling that the end is closer than I would've imagined…I don't know how to tell you this, but should I not be able to fix the situation, this portal will turn into a time-space void, and it will end up completely merging our time with a parallel universe's, completely obliterating us in the process."

It was at that time, that I fell to the ground, actually I lay down on the ground, and started to wonder what the heck was going on. The boys were around me, moving around, struggling to keep it together. Toby was managing well, Dipper was more of a headless chicken. I pulled my sweater over my head, crawled in a corner and started crying…I didn't see much around me, I could only feel gusts of wind, coming to and from the portal, accentuating its hazardous behavior. I was trying to calm myself down, but I couldn't do it. I didn't think much of how I was going to die, but hopefully it wasn't going to be trapped in a hut killed by the randomness of the universe. I can't wrap my mind around how sudden this all was. One second resting comfortably at home, watching the sun shine, next up, I am trapped in the lair of a thirteen year old scientist… I was now gently rocking back and forth, trying to mimic that movement, that gentle motion that puts babies to sleep. I faintly heard Dipper asking: "What the heck is that?", to which Toby answered with the simplest: "I don't know."

Zaps of electricity grew in frequency, coming from the direction of the portal. The end was near…I was now clenching my arms in a self-hug, my entire life trying to flash before my eyes, being blocked, though, by fear. Suddenly, I could feel an arm on my shoulder, and a hand, dragging my over-extended collar so it was now resting under my nose.

"You, ok, kiddo?" Toby smiled as he was using his whispery voice. I couldn't do anything but cry and nod. That nod was both a yes and a no, and he caught on to that.

"Yeah, I feel you. I just finished running a script through the portal…It's pretty much the fail-safe. It either shuts everything down, or it collapses and well…the world is safe anyway. I find it funny that Bill has chosen this untimely date for our demise. He had to spark the portal when, I was away…he just had to, right?" he criticized that horrible being. I only now understood the depth of what was happening in this town. Such conniving forces plotting against something elevated from the plane of mere mortals. It was a true showdown of wits and wills between unknown good and evil representatives…

"Hey…wipe those tears off," I heard Toby as if I was dreaming. "It's gonna be alright," he smiled bitterly, not even him believing what he was saying. "That portal should be done any second now…Wonder what's taking…" A sudden burst of power interrupted him, and knocked all three of us in different corners of the room. That wasn't just a simple explosion…because an implosion followed. The portal began acting like an enormous vacuum. I managed to grab the leg of the desk, but Toby didn't need to do that. He could resist the tremendous force that was going to grab him in. But, soon after it overpowered him. He lost his balance and fell to the ground, hitting his head on a strange bump in the floor. Strangely enough, I didn't notice that bump before…Now, his unconscious body was slowly drifting towards the portal…Dipper rushed to help him, but another pulse knocked him back, again. And yet again, an explosion was followed by an implosion, this time with double the force…Toby was only a couple of feet from the gaping void that was about to suck him in…That portal was seemingly driven by gluttony, growing in power the closer he was to it…With a new surge of power, however, its greed peaked. Despite, my firm grip on the desk had caused it to break apart, and I flew in the air, alongside Dipper, who had experienced the same fate. In the span of half a minute, we had been oscillating between the portal and the extremities of the room it was in, only to be sucked inside it…

I think I might've passed out from the all the G forces (thanks Dipper for finally teaching me physics). I tried to take in my surroundings, but I couldn't see anything. Strangely enough, though, I could see my arms, but my hands were covered in shadows. I couldn't spot my feet in the darkness, but I saw my torso…It was as if my eyes were the light source, now. I yelled, but I didn't even hear myself. Now, I was left alone, in a ravished mental state, to explore an unknown world, where I couldn't even use my senses to guide myself…I fell to the ground, a wall seemingly spawning behind me to lean on, and started writing this…I've been waiting for what seemed like hours, although it probably was only minutes…Being trapped in nothing…must be the scariest experience you could go through. I can't get myself to write my thoughts anymore, because I feel like it might not be the best thing…to let them resonate. Best I experience them once, not twice, with a retrospect added to them…I'll end this page, now…Hopefully, I will be able to write again.

(If you're not interested in my opinion skip the paragraphs below and just read the next chapter)

As this story closes its near end, I would like to openly express my opinion on it, should that not be a bit…gratuitous to say the least (the story is riddled with slight fourth wall breaks that openly state my self-deprecating nature). Now, I am a pessimist and a perfectionist, therefore this will be a blatant self-critique, pointing out mostly flaws. I'll go with the saying "What's done cannot be undone" and just state what I've done wrong, without expressing how I could've avoided that. And it's all going to be in brief sentences. The action progression is with an uneven tempo, brisk and slow at the same time. Chapters have different points of focus. The character's opinion is stated sometimes from an inconspicuous perspective. Development is pretty forced. The characters are feeling conscious that they are at the whim of the screenwriter, and do not follow the theory of realism, that states that 'characters should be left to act at free will in the world they are a part of.' The descriptive passages are used as a mode to slow the tempo in an attempt to alleviate writer's block. There isn't a rigorously constructed intrigue.

Is it good that I wrote this paragraph? No. Should I have not said those things? Probably. But it's best to be self-conscious to the point where you get to this point, rather than take the path of arrogance. Self-critique is useful in self-development. To conclude this, I should point out some good things as well, I guess (because literary critiques usually do that, and I, as a self-appointed analyzer, should do it as well). The original character has some sort of originality to it, although seeming to be a romantic ideal. The non-canon events are mildly interesting. Descriptions are pretty redeeming, although abundant. The locations are greatly constructed. Symbols are used in a subtle manner. The theme of reflection is of philosophical nature…

That is all.


End file.
